


10,462 Lives

by NailStrafer



Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: Action & Romance, F/M, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-05-09 19:19:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 55,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14722067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NailStrafer/pseuds/NailStrafer
Summary: Fox is trapped in a time loop, fighting the Anglar Empire for what feels like hundreds of thousands of years now. Yet even while the rest of Star Fox is oblivious to the phenomena, he tries to get them to see beyond the veil of this reality.





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Fox leaned back into the captain's chair of the _Great Fox II_ , his feet resting on a console in front of him. The others huddled near another station closer to the front of the bridge, discussing navigational data or something. Slippy talked away in his squeaky voice and pointed at things on the screen, while Falco waved a hand around as if frustrated about something. Meanwhile, Lucy Hare, Peppy's daughter, stood off to the side giving out the occasional comment. Since they were short one pilot, she'd joined up with them while they passed through Fichina. Fox didn't care what the others were talking about though, as far deeper matters stewed in his mind.

After a few more minutes, the doors at the back of the bridge whooshed aside, revealing Krystal standing there in a purple jumpsuit. Fox rotated his chair to get a better look. Upon spotting him, Krystal stared him down with narrowed eyes, Fox returning the glare. Nothing remained of the cheerful, cuddly blue vixen he knew from before. But he figured the first meeting after their breakup would be tense, so Krystal's attitude didn't faze him. After a few more moments of silent glaring, Krystal gave a little scoff, putting on a sarcastic smirk as she strode past him to the front of the bridge, her head cast high. Fox remained seated, only his head moving as he watched her pass by.

Oblivious to Fox's mood, Falco, Slippy, and Lucy turned up from their work, smiling as Krystal approached.

"Krystal!" Falco smiled.

"Krystal girl!" Lucy laughed, running over. "Great to see you again!"

Slippy jumped for joy, pumping his fists into the air as he leaped. "Krystal! Hooray! You and Fox made up!"

Krystal stopped, frowning as she glared down at the toad. "And what do you mean by that, Slippy?" She rested a hand on one of her hips, a cold glare on her face. "You never get tired of talking about what Fox does, do you?"

Slippy took a step back, his big mouth opening in surprise as if Krystal took an actual swing at him. Fox just sighed at the tense exchange.

Falco blinked, eyes going wide as he rushed to the toad's defense. "Geez Krystal… Give Slippy a break, would ya?"

"Why'd you do that?" Slippy sniffed. "That was so mean…"

Fox chose this moment to stand up and approach the rest of the group. "Okay Krystal," He leaned against a nearby console. "Let's get this over with. What's this secret on Titania you know about? How's it going to help us fight the Anglars?"

The Anglar Empire, made up of fishes and various sea creatures, rose up out of the Venomian oceans a few months ago and attacked the entire system in a blitzkrieg advance. Star Fox and the Cornerian military couldn't contain the threat. The only way to stop them for good would be to destroy their undersea kingdom. But as long as the seas on Venom remained acidic, no one was getting anywhere near that place. The acid would melt the fur and skin off your bones and corrode any type of known metal to rust. And Krystal was their only hope right now of finding a solution.

She glanced at Fox off to the side, not bothering to turn all the way to face him. "Okay, fine…I'll tell you." She pushed a strand of her hair away from her face. "A long time ago, Andross started developing a new machine…one that could deacidify Venom's oceans. This device would make Venom a beautiful place that could support life."

Fox rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure…" Like he'd heard it all before.

Krystal growled at Fox's callousness, but continued on regardless. "Andross was deemed to be a dangerous fanatic and banished to Venom. He was condemned to a life of isolation and loneliness. Before then, he was Corneria's chief science officer. He was also a close colleague of General Pepper. But they were like oil and water. Their infighting was the precursor to war." Every time Krystal referred to Andross, she gazed off through the windows of the bridge, as though longing for the ape's return.

"Why are you suddenly an Andross fan, Krystal?" Fox asked. "Didn't he have something to do with Cerinia's destruction?"

"His motives were pure, Fox!" Krystal snapped her head towards Fox. "He just wanted to continue his research. He never asked for money or kickbacks of any kind!"

"Do you really feel about Andross that way, deep in your heart?"

Krystal opened her mouth, but no words came out. Grumbling, she turned to the window again.

Fox shook his head. _She still doesn't remember…_

Meanwhile, Falco called the meeting back to order. "Enough! We don't have time to blab about the past right now!"

Krystal glanced over at Falco, appearing thankful for the interruption. "Of course, you're right Falco." She cleared her throat, looking back at Fox. "After Andross fought you, he dedicated his remaining days to planet Venom. He wanted to leave some sort of legacy. That's all."

"Yeah…of course…" Fox rubbed his hands together. "So suppose we deacidify the oceans with this device. We don't have the _Blue Marine_ sub anymore. That was on the old _Great Fox_ when it got destroyed. So even if the oceans are squeaky clean, we're still not getting anywhere near the Anglars' lair."

"We can just fly the Arwings underwater!" Slippy piped in, his happy, bubbly voice filled the room. "We'll finish them off in no time!"

Fox raised an eyebrow. "And since when could Arwings fly underwater, Slippy?"

The toad blinked. "Uh… Fox? They've been able to do that for ages."

"They have?" Fox looked down at the toad. "I don't remember that."

Slippy glanced at Falco. Falco just shrugged, not knowing what to make of this. Turning back to Fox, Slippy said, "But Fox, I'm telling you I upgraded them! Don't you remember that?"

"And how did you do that, Slippy? I'm not an engineer like you, but I'm pretty sure you can't just take a fighter designed to work in space and upgrade it to work underwater too. How do you do design for one scenario without compromising performance in the other?"

"Well, you see…" Slippy stopped. When no words came to mind, he turned down to the floor, twiddling his thumbs together. "I…uh…I used this thing, to do this thing, and—"

"You don't know you did it, do you?" Fox crouched down on one knee, so he sat more at Slippy's eye level. "The Arwings just…work that way now, for some reason right?" Despite Fox coming down to his height, Slippy still tried to avert his gaze. Fox sighed at the non-answer. "Anyway, speaking of other things that don't make sense…" Fox returned his attention to the rest of the group. "We ran into Bill Grey earlier on Katina. You guys remember that?"

Lucy, Slippy, Falco, and Krystal shared confused glances, not knowing what to make of the question.

"I…guess we did?" Falco raised an eyebrow.

"Okay…" Fox stuck his hands in his pocket, walking around the bridge. "I remember Bill having gray fur." Fox looked back towards the group as he paced. "As in gray like his _name_ , you know? By the way, do you spell gray with an 'E' or an 'A'? Eh…whatever." Fox shrugged as he stared forward again, continuing his lap around the room. "Anyway, now he's brown."

"But Fox…" Lucy stepped forward. "You've been friends with him since we were all in the Academy. He's _always_ had brown fur."

Fox stopped in place, rolling his eyes. "No. He. _Hasn't_. He's supposed to be gray. And as for colors…" Fox strolled towards Falco, staring the bird down. "What color does Katt dye her fur, Falco? She's your girlfriend. You should know."

Falco took a couple steps back as Fox approached. "But Katt doesn't dye her fur! What are you—"

" _Wrroooonng!"_ Fox pointed a finger in Falco's face. Falco stumbled backwards, throwing out an elbow as though Fox were trying to assault him. Fox didn't let up though. "She dyes it _pink!_ Everything she owns is _pink!_ She loves _pink!"_ Spittle flew out of Fox's mouth every time he said that word. "How could anyone forget about that?"

"Uh…" Krystal's eyes looked a bit like saucers at this point, herself taken aback by Fox's outburst. She laid hands on Fox's shoulders from behind. "Fox, are you all right? I'll admit…I'm still mad at you, but even _I'm_ a little worried about you now…"

Fox chuckled, turning around to face her. "Oh yeah…about that breakup. Why did I kick you off the team again?"

Krystal blinked, surprised by the casual way he asked the question. "You…you said were afraid I'd die. You were pretty loud and clear about that."

Fox nodded, still grinning. "Uh huh. That's what everyone keeps telling me anyway. But _why_?" Fox sounded like he was talking to himself at this point, laughing away. " _Why_? It just makes no sense. Krystal's an excellent pilot." He turned around to look at Slippy. "If I was worried about someone getting shot down, why didn't I take Slippy off the squadron instead?"

"Hey!" Slippy shouted out. "That's not nice, Fox!"

"Slip, I like you both as a friend and as a teammate. But let's be honest here. Your flying is just. Plain. Awful."

Slippy's oversized lip trembled, as tears started to form in his bulbous eyes. But Fox walked over with a warm smile on his face, patting Slippy on the shoulder.

"I will say this though Slippy. You're an amazing mechanic. I think your real place is here on the _Great Fox II_ , where you can do that job full time. Keep our ships in even better working order than they normally are. Maybe even give you some more R&D time so you can develop new things for us. Don't you think that would be better?"

Slippy stared back at Fox, thinking it over. A faint smile appeared on his large mouth. "Actually…maybe yeah. I _would_ like that. There are some things I wish I could spend more time working on, but then we have to go out and fly a sortie…"

"I don't know where you're going with all this Fox," Krystal interrupted. "But does any of this matter? You did what you did, and you can't take it back now."

"You know, that reminds me of something else, Krystal…" Fox pointed a finger at his head. "I have all these memories. Not just from the past, but from the future too. It's like I've lived through this war with the Anglars over and over again, somehow. But each time, it's a little different." Fox looked over towards one of the windows, staring off into the stars. "I can remember the Anglars winning, but also losing. I can remember my deaths." Fox cast a brief glance back at the others. "Yes, deaths, plural. I can remember each of you dying at least once too. I can also see the _Great Fox II_ being destroyed, multiple times, by missile strikes..."

"You can see the future now Fox, really?" Krystal just burst out laughing. She laughed so hard she had to stop and lean down, putting her hands on her knees.

"Yes, exactly." Fox said without irony, as he walked over to the blue vixen. "Krystal…in your future, I can see you leaving behind Lylat for good, everyone shunning you for helping Star Wolf. You take on the new name of _Kursed_. And yet I also have memories of us getting back together, marrying for real, and even having a son…"

"Oh this is rich!" Krystal smiled, rising back up into a stand. "What's the kid's na—"

"Marcus."

Krystal's grin dropped off her face. "Wha? That was the first name that popped into my head." Now with rapt attention, she said, "What other things can you see?"

Fox turned to Falco. "Falco…you and I disband Star Fox and we start a G-Zero team. We turn our Arwings into racers."

"What?" Falco grinned, as he turned away laughing, clutching at his stomach. "Get out of here! I don't even watch G-Zero!"

"Not just that. I've got memories of you forming your own team with Katt and Dash Bowman. You call it Star Falco."

Falco raised an eyebrow. "Star Falco? And who the hell is Dash?"

"He's someone you meet in one of my other memories. The grandson of Andross."

"Eh?" Falco winced in disgust. "Why would I want someone like that on my team?"

"I don't know…but I have other memories of Dash taking leadership over Venom, both with and without following in his grandfather's footsteps…"

"Uh…Fox?" Lucy stepped forward, reentering the conversation after having been quiet for most of it. "I thought we were here to talk about getting that device."

Fox narrowed his eyes at Lucy, then ignored her to return his attention to Falco, Slippy, and Krystal. "I'm trying to tell you guys. Something feels _wrong_ here. All of Lylat feels wrong somehow. I have all these memories that just don't match up to reality. And so far as I know, I'm not crazy. Do I look crazy?"

Krystal, Falco, and Slippy stood there in silence, exchanging nervous, pained glances with each other.

"You sure _sound_ like it Fox…" Krystal said. "Besides, memories are unreliable things. They're not like videos. Memories can change over time and become different from what really happened."

"Well then…" Fox folded his arms. "Explain how that causes me to _completely forget_ about someone I should have known my entire life."

"Wh-who's that?" Lucy asked, her lip trembling.

Fox turned to the hare, staring her dead in the eyes. "It's you, Lucy. Peppy basically took over as my dad when my real father died. So how come my only memories of you are from the past few days, after the Anglars attacked?" With each word, Fox took a step closer to the hare. "Why did Peppy never introduce me to you? How come you didn't live with us? He never even _mentioned_ to anyone he had a wife or daughter."

Lucy drew a hand close to her chest, backing away from the vulpine.

"Fox, what are you talking about?" Slippy called out. "We've all known Lucy. Peppy shows us pictures of her every chance he gets."

"Yeah Fox," Falco chimed in. "You told us all about how you were good friends with Lucy, since Peppy and your dad James let the two of you play together when you were younger."

"I sure as hell don't remember any of that." Fox glanced over at his teammates. "Lucy may as well be a total stranger."

"But Fox…they're right," Lucy stepped forward. "Come on… All this stuff you're saying. It's just stress. That's all. You've been through an awful lot the past few years. It's taken its toll on you." She offered a hug to Fox. "I'm here for you Fox, just like I've always been…"

Fox pushed her away, glaring straight into her eyes. "Bullshit." He heard a few sharp intakes of breath from the others. Everyone had their eyes on the two of them. Fox didn't let up. "This reminds me of something else. Why was Peppy chosen as the general of the Cornerian Forces?"

"B-because he's…done a lot of great things for Lylat?" Slippy mused.

Fox laughed. "Well, how come _I'm_ not a Cornerian general then? I love you guys, and you're great support, but I _am_ the one who leads the squadron and actually gets shit done that saves Lylat, you know. With all the things I've done for Lylat, I should be first pick. But Corneria's not exactly in a rush to call me up about that…" He glanced over at the comms station, with its empty call log displayed on the screen.

"Corneria values…age, wisdom, and experience?" Krystal asked.

Fox shook his head. "If that's true, why'd Corneria let a former mercenary take over as a CDF general? Why not someone who's been in the CDF his whole life, picking up lots of military experience and working his way up the chain of command for decades? Someone like that would know how the CDF runs better than anyone. Yet Corneria just lets some outsider take the helm? You'd think there'd be a massive outcry about Peppy just skipping straight to the top like that, and yet…" Fox took a moment to look everyone else in the face. "…nobody really seems bothered by it. Except me, of course."

"Fox…" Lucy tried to drag them back towards talking about the mission. "Shouldn't we be thinking about the Anglars and—"

" _I'm not done with you yet!"_ Fox shouted at her, pointing a finger square between her eyes. "Since we've known each other as kids, like everyone says…what color was my dad's sports car?"

Lucy's eyes welled up, tears forming in her eyes. "Why do I have to answer that for? This is just—"

" **Answer!"**

"Fine! It was…it was…." Lucy chewed her lip. "…red?"

"My dad never owned a sports car. Too expensive. Dad saved every penny he could to start Star Fox, to buy the Arwings and the first _Great Fox_."

"What does any of this matter?!" Lucy cried out. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"For real Fox!" Slippy stepped in. "You've been acting mean to everyone here!"

Fox looked over at the toad. "I told you… Something. Is. Wrong. Here. Can't _any_ of you see that?"

"Oh for gods' sake Fox!" Krystal stepped in. "You've just gone crazy; that's the only thing that's wrong here."

"Have I? Does being the only sane man in an insane world make you the insane one?" Fox turned back to Lucy. "Okay Lucy...I'll ask you an easier question. Your father…Peppy. What does he like to say about aileron rolls?"

Lucy drew a blank. "Aileron rolls? I don't follow you…"

Fox put on a mocking smile. "Oh come now. _Everyone_ knows what Peppy says about _those_... Right? _Riiiiight?"_ He cast a smile to the others.

Lucy seemed to be sweating bullets now.

Slippy started to mumble. "D…D-do a—"

Fox put a hand over Slippy's mouth. "No, she has to do this herself. No helping." Fox flashed his sharp teeth at Lucy. "Come on. It's just four words. This ought to be easy."

"Umm…." Lucy's eyes darted all over the room, anywhere except the vulpine's face. "Do an…aileron roll?"

Within the blink of an eye, Fox drew his blaster and pointed it square at Lucy's forehead. "Now I _know_ you're not Peppy's daughter. Who are you?"

Lucy gasped, stumbling backwards and falling to the floor. "Wh-wha-what are you doing? You're insane! Get that gun away from me!"

"Whoa whoa Fox!" Falco shouted, holding his hands up. "Bit extreme, don't you think?!"

"Not in the slightest, Falco." Fox stepped forward, towering over the hare with the gun in hand. "Krystal?"

Krystal's eyes went wide. She looked like the last thing she wanted right now was the vulpine's attention. "Y-yes Fox?"

"Use your telepathy. Reach out to everyone in this room. Tell me what you feel."

Krystal looked back and forth between Lucy and the gun, the vixen's feet rooted to the floor. But after getting over the shock, she seemed to realize that Fox's request probably would be safe to grant. Giving a nod, Krystal closed her eyes, touching everyone's minds in turn. Fox felt a brief fluttering in his head when it was his turn.

As she finished up, Krystal said "Fox, I can sense your mind, Slippy's and Falco's. But Lucy… I can't sense anything at all… Like nothing is there."

Lucy trembled, shrinking away from the gun.

"Fox… I think you're right to be suspicious of her." The vixen looked over at the helpless bunny. "She's not a lifeform like we are…"

Lucy started crying. "Please…don't hurt me! I didn't do anything!"

"Start telling us what's really going on here…" Fox took another step forward, close enough to shove the barrel into her forehead. "Who are you? What is this place? It sure isn't Lylat, wherever we are. And why do I have all these memories that don't make sense?"

Lucy sat there with tears running down her face. "Fox, I can't believe you. Threatening your godfather's daughter with a gun…"

"How _dare_ you claim Peppy as your father," Fox snarled. "I will shoot you if you don't start answering my questions. You _will_ tell me how to get out of this timeloop or whatever we're trapped in."

Falco, Krystal, and Slippy stood paralyzed off to the side, holding their breath.

"I'm going to give you until the count of ten to start talking." Fox adjusted the charging handle on the side of his blaster. "One, two, three—"

"Fox, please! I don't know anything! I swear!"

Fox didn't miss a beat. "—four, five, six—"

"Don't do this… Don't do this…" Lucy shook her head, shrinking back until she found herself against one of the consoles. Fox paced after her, keeping the gun pointed square at her head.

"—seven, eight—"

Lucy couldn't take it anymore. She jumped up and ran for the bridge's rear door, running down the central aisle between the stations.

"—nine, ten." Fox squeezed the trigger. A flash appeared on Lucy's shoulder, smoke pouring out of it. The hare cried out as she tumbled out of sight behind the consoles. Fox lowered the gun, a blank expression as he walked over to observe what he'd done. Lucy lay sprawled across the floor, twitching. Silence filled the bridge, aside from Lucy crying and whimpering from her injury. The others alternated between looking at Lucy and staring at Fox.

"I…I can't believe it…" Slippy stared at Lucy's crumpled form. "You really did it…"

Fox holstered his blaster, turning back to glare at the others. "She was a spy. It was either her or us."

"You would just shoot someone like her, Fox?" Falco stood there with his mouth open, a rare look of complete shock on his face. "What happened to you?"

"Krystal said it herself," Fox spoke matter-of-factly, like a robot. "She didn't have a readable brain, like the rest of us. She's not like us. Isn't that right, Krystal?"

"I-I did but…" Krystal took shallow breaths, her heart beating fast as she glanced between Fox with his gun and Lucy on the floor. "I didn't think you'd just _shoot_ her…"

"It's official, you've lost it," Falco narrowed his eyes, stepping up to Fox. "I can't let you do this to anyone else here. Give me that gun."

"This is _my_ ship, _my_ PMC. _My_ way goes here," Fox folded his ears back, exposing his sharp teeth.

"How do I know you won't shoot one of us later, just because you think _we're_ spies?" Falco stepped right up to Fox, using his taller height to tower over him. "I don't care who owns this ship. You're not gonna shoot any more of us on _my_ watch." Falco reached for Fox's holster.

"Let go of me!" Fox shouted out, trying to back away from Falco.

However, Fox tripped over one of the steps leading to the bridge's rear door, sending him tumbling to the floor. Falco went down with him. They tussled about, both of them fighting for control of Fox's blaster. Wild blaster shots rang out across the bridge as they struggled, causing Krystal and Slippy to duck behind the consoles. One more blaster shot rang out. Falco screamed, rolling off of Fox with a smoking hole in his Star Fox jacket. Blood began running across the silver fabric.

Fox jumped to his feet, but then he gasped upon seeing his friend on the floor. "Oh no….no no no no… Please no Falco…" Tears ran down Fox's face, sprinkling onto the bird's form. "I was…I was just trying to protect us and…" He couldn't say anything more, Fox's sobbing covering up any more coherent words.

Krystal and Slippy couldn't do anything but watch, both of them unable to believe what had just happened before their eyes. To think that just a few minutes ago, they'd been discussing a mission, just like any other time in Star Fox. And now…

A buzzing sound filled the bridge. When it ended, everyone in the room froze exactly where they were, not even chests rising up and down from breathing. Fox's tears floated in midair over Falco's body, unmoving. Seconds passed with complete silence and stillness. The walls, ceiling, and floors of the bridge began shimmering, as though they were desert mirages fading out of existence. One by one, the surfaces blinked away, leaving nothing but solid blackness behind them. The consoles and furniture did the same thing thereafter, shimmering and then vanishing. This left the forms of the five anthros where they were, floating in black space in the exact same positions. But soon, each of them began to fade away, one at a time, until only Fox himself was left, still in his hunched over sobbing position. But the unmoving, unfeeling form of Fox McCloud joined his friends after a few moments. First his legs faded away, then his arms, tail, torso, and finally his head vanishing…leaving behind a silent, dark, empty world.


	2. Chapter 2

 

**Chapter 2**

Fox leaned back into the captain's chair of the _Great Fox II_ , his feet resting on a console in front of him. "Hmm…that didn't go over very well." Glancing towards the bridge's windows, Fox looked down at Corneria. He raised three fingers, lowering them in turn. "And three, two, one…"

R.O.B., plugged into his recharging slot at the front of the bridge, rotated around to face him. "We have entered into orbit around Corneria. Awaiting your instructions."

Fox ignored him, remaining slouched in his seat.

"Fox?" R.O.B. inquired.

"Not now R.O.B.," Fox sighed. "Not in the mood."

"But my sensors are picking up multiple enemy contacts. The Anglar forces have total control of Corneria."

"Just go back to your recharge mode." Fox dismissed him with a wave. "I don't wanna talk right now."

"But Fox, Corneria needs your help." R.O.B. repeated in his insistent, droning voice.

Fox rested the side of his muzzle against an enclosed fist, sinking deeper into his chair. "Probably does, but I can't do anything about that in here."

"I don't understand."

Fox glared at the robot. "Just shut up already."

"Fox, I am detecting elevated body temperature, raised heart rate and—" R.O.B.'s red visor dimmed, as he settled back into sleep mode.

Fox put the robot's remote back down on the chair's armrest. He yawned, tail curling and ears pointing back behind, stretching. Finished, he slid out of his comfortable chair and wandered to the bridge's front windows. Corneria's surface bloomed with explosions, dense clouds of black smoke from ruined cities and annihilated people filling the atmosphere. Each second he watched another thousand Cornerians perish below.

"Hmm..." Fox gazed down, his sleepy eyes only halfway open. "Coffee would be good right about now…" He needed some time to contemplate how he'd talk to Slippy, Falco, and Krystal this time. The approach required some revisions. Plus he lost his temper at the end there. That sure didn't help.

He turned around, walking towards the bridge's exit door. But before he could get there, the door whooshed open. Fox's heart skipped a beat. Krystal stood there, dressed in a silver Cornerian fighter pilot suit, a purple helmet covering the top half of her face.

"You?" Fox's jaw dropped. "But you're not supposed to be here yet…"

Krystal ripped the helmet off, letting it clatter onto the floor. She looked terrified, her eyes darting about. "Fox!" Without warning she dashed straight at him, wrapping her arms around him.

Fox almost tumbled backwards from the sudden hug. Krystal buried her muzzle into his shoulder, sniffling. Fox stood stock still, not knowing what this meant. However, he started to return the embrace, letting her warmth mingle with his own. They stood there, neither of them wanting to let go, Krystal crying into Fox's shoulder while he gave her reassuring pats on the back. Fox didn't know how much time passed, nor did he care. At long last, they pulled away, with their hands still interlocked.

"Krystal…" Fox started.

"Fox," Krystal wiped tears away from her face. "I know the truth now. Just like you. This place…it's not real."

Fox couldn't breathe for a moment. "Wha…what did you say?"

"You know how you said you remember things that don't make sense? It's happening to me too."

Was this real? Fox had waited so long for this moment he wasn't sure if it was a dream or not. He couldn't speak.

Krystal smiled at him. "Remember when you mentioned Marcus?"

"You remember that?!" Fox grabbed Krystal by the shoulders.

She nodded. "I do. It's like that name triggered long-lost memories in my head. A couple hours ago I just…" Krystal paused, looking for the right word. "… _appeared_ in a Cornerian fighter, out in space. I have no idea how I got there. But I know you were talking to us just a few minutes before then, or that's what it felt like anyway. But then I checked the ship's chronometer, and it showed the date being days before any of that happened…"

Fox smiled. "I know. Same thing happens to me." He gestured to the bridge around them. "I always start here when everything resets."

"So Lucy…" Krystal's voice trailed off. She looked at the aisle between the consoles, staring at the spot where Lucy's body lay after Fox shot her.

"She's alive, if that's what you're worried about." Fox frowned. "But don't cry over her. She's fake, just like the rest of this place. Same thing with that down there." Fox pointed out the window, at the destruction and mayhem being wreaked on Corneria by the Anglars. Returning his attention to her, he grinned. "Krystal, you've got no idea how glad I am you're here. I've lost count of how many times I've reappeared on this bridge, seeing Corneria getting destroyed over and over again. It feels like it's been thousands of times, literally."

" _Thousands_ of times?"

"Yes…" Fox stepped behind his captain's chair, resting his hands on the headrest. The word _thousands_ felt like a crushing weight on the back of his shoulders.

Krystal stared at Fox, raising a hand to her face. "Oh Fox, please don't tell me I was rude and mean to you _every time_ this…this place reset."

Fox closed his eyes, a tear leaking out of one of them.

Krystal couldn't help it, hugging him from behind. "I'm so, so sorry…"

More tears ran down Fox's face, and yet he smiled. "It's all right Krystal. You didn't know. This…" He turned around, returning the embrace again. "…makes up for _all_ of it." Tears freely flowed down his face, the moment bittersweet.

Once more they held each other close, the hug more for mutual comfort rather than loving. Neither of them wanted to let go, for fear that another reset could happen at any time. At last the two parted again, staring at each other with tear-stained eyes. Neither spoke, both enveloped in an intense mix of emotions.

Krystal decided to break the silence first. "Fox…can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" Fox smiled, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"You've been repeating the same few days over and over again… How do you deal with it? How did you stay sane?"

Fox flashed a toothy grin, the smile looking devilish. "Well…once I knew what was going to happen, and that anything I did would be erased in the next cycle, I decided to have some fun with that..."

Krystal raised an eyebrow. "Fun? Like what?"

"Well…" Fox scratched the back of his neck, letting out a nervous laugh. "One time, I said everyone's words right before they were going to say them."

Krystal's eyes widened. "You've done this enough to memorize all that?"

Fox giggled. "Yeah, I started getting real bored doing the simulation the 'right way'…" He used air quotes. "Anyway, on one life I punched everyone in the face, just to see what would happen. That didn't go over real well... And there was another time when I got everyone together. And I mean _everyone_. You, Peppy, Slippy, Falco, Bill, Katt, Dash, Star Wolf… and I told everyone the _real_ reason I kicked you off the team was…" A laughing fit overtook Fox. He couldn't speak for a bit. "I told everyone Wolf was the true love of my life, and we were going to prance off hand in hand into the sunset…"

Krystal just stood there, like she couldn't process the words. However, a sly grin crept on her face, before she burst out laughing. "Really? You did all that? What did I do when you said that?"

"Oh…it was _priceless_ …" Fox cackled, clutching his gut as he recalled it in his head. "You looked like your brain crashed and had to restart. But it was _**nothing**_ compared to what Wolf looked like, especially when Leon and Panther grinned at him."

A renewed round of laughter came from Krystal. She had to lean forward from laughing too much, placing her hands on her knees. "Are you sure you're not going insane?" She couldn't keep a straight face, looking back up at Fox.

"Ha…I don't know." Fox gave out a couple more laughs, then sighed. "Ironic…I had to indulge in a little insanity to help myself stay sane, no?"

Krystal smiled once more. "Well Fox…now that I know what's going on, what do we do now?"

"Well…" Fox licked his tongue along the side of his muzzle. "I'm pretty sure the Falco and Slippy we've been talking to are the real deal. I was hoping I could get all of you to see the truth, and then maybe we could start working together on a way to break out of this place." Fox smiled. "Now that there's two of us, I think convincing Falco and Slippy will be a lot easier."

"So…do you have any ideas for how we could get out of here?" The smile faded from Krystal's face, as she looked around the room. "Is someone holding us here? Or is it some weird natural phenomena?"

Fox shook his head. "No, I'm pretty sure someone put us in here. I know _someone_ is planting false memories in our heads. But even knowing that, it's hard to know where reality stops and fiction begins. I don't remember us getting captured or anything like that. Do you?"

"No, I don't…" Krystal paced around the bridge, still looking around. "Who do you think did this to us?"

"I don't know," Fox shrugged. "I've lived for what feels like thousands of years in this place, and I'm still no closer to figuring that out." Fox settled into one of the chairs, tapping his fingers on a counter. "After a while I just gave up. Whenever I tried to solve the mystery, I just ended up driving myself crazy. Besides, knowing who put us in here wouldn't change much anyway, would it?" Fox glanced at Krystal.

"I can't imagine it Fox…" She settled into a chair next to him. "Literally thousands of years in here, and you can't even trust what's in your own head? It must have been maddening for you."

"It was at first," Fox leaned back in the chair. "But it's amazing how adaptable the mind can be."

"Speaking of minds…" Krystal leaned back in her own chair, the two of them laying there looking up at the ceiling. "When everything reset this last time, I did a little telepathy scan of everyone I ran into. Except for you, everyone seemed to be like Lucy. No minds at all. They may as well have been holograms."

Fox rolled his head over to look at her. "Really? Your telepathy scans never did that before?"

"Right. Everyone came across as normal until you threatened Lucy in the last time loop. But this time, no matter where I went, I could sense you, Falco, Slippy, and even Peppy as being somewhere nearby, while everyone else's heads seemed empty."

"How strange."

"I think I'm going to check again." Krystal closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. After a few moments, she gasped, jumping out of her seat. "What…? I can sense hundreds, no…thousands of minds approaching!"

"What?!" Fox stood straight up. "Well…who are they? Can you tell?"

"I don't know…it's hard to keep a fix on any one of them long enough." Krystal's brow furrowed, as she tried to focus. "They seem angry, whoever they are…" Krystal gasped, her eyes shooting open. "No! No no no!" She growled, clutching her hands at her head. She staggered around the bridge, tripping over a step and falling to the floor. But she didn't even seem to notice the fall. "Get out! **Get out**!"

Fox dashed over, helping Krystal to her feet. "Krys! What's wrong?"

Krystal seemed oblivious to Fox, thrashing about as if trying to fight off an invisible attacker. She sliced an outstretched claw across Fox's face, leaving a bloody gash along his cheek. Fox ignored the injury, still trying to restrain Krystal.

"Get out! **Leave me alone**!" she cried out, flailing to escape Fox's grip.

Fox couldn't tell if she was talking to him, or someone he couldn't see. He didn't care. He wasn't going anywhere, not now that he finally had her back. "Krystal!"

She let out one final scream that echoed around the bridge, lingering in Fox's head. But then the scream cut off, just as soon as it started. Krystal froze in Fox's arms, her mouth still open from yelling.

"Krystal! What happened?!"

He tried shaking her awake, but she just felt like a mannequin in his arms now. Even her chest didn't move from breathing. And then her body began evaporating away like so much vapor. First her legs, then her torso, then arms, head, and she was gone. The entire process took only a few seconds.

"No," Fox shook his head. "No…"

Where did she go? Why was she taken away? Did their captor not like what Fox and Krystal were doing with the 'script'? Fox didn't know, but he felt a rage boiling within him he hadn't felt in a long time. As he said before, he'd long since stopped caring about who put them in here. But this… This crossed the line. He felt his rage at their warden frothing over. He hoped that whoever did this to them, they one day suffered in a virtual hell like this for all of eternity. And yet Fox had nothing to direct his anger against. Fox wondered if his captor was looking down right now, laughing at his complete inability to do anything about the suffering they'd put him through for millennia. They probably just gave him Krystal this time as a tease, only to take her right back and see how he reacted.

Fox snarled, his sharp canines on full display, ears peeled back against his head. The vulpine gazed around the room with bloodshot eyes, spotting the two chairs he and Krystal were sitting in just before. He stomped over, picking up one and hurling it at the front window. It bounced off the thick space-proof glass, not even leaving a scratch as it hit the floor. Screaming, Fox picked up the other chair and slammed down the legs onto the nearest console. The keyboard caved in, sparks spitting out and sending keys scattering on the floor. He whacked it again and again, cracking the monitor and then shattering it entirely. But Fox's fury refused to abate. By the time he was done, the entire machine lay scattered in pieces of scrap metal and plastic, completely unidentifiable as the working computer it had been minutes ago.

Fox felt better now. Well, relatively speaking. He still saw red, his breath coming through as harsh exhales. But at least murdering a helpless computer quelled his rage for the moment. Didn't really solve any problems though.

Fox collapsed into another chair, realizing he felt exhausted now. But at least it gave him time to calm down and think more about what just transpired. Why did Krystal just disappear? That was the first time anyone disappeared from this fake world before the simulation ended. What did it mean? Did it signal a change from whoever ran this place? A change of the 'rules'? Fox got the feeling he wasn't going to like what would happen in the next cycle. But what could he do about it? He was more or less just a character in a video game here, at the mercy of the player at the controls.

Fox closed his eyes, taking a deep breath as he sunk back into the chair. He felt a strange sensation on his feet. Looking down, Fox noticed his feet fading away, like the way Krystal vanished before. While he knew this happened whenever this world reset, for some reason he felt terrified this time. Like this time, instead of reappearing on the _Great Fox II's_ bridge, he thought he was going to reappear somewhere much worse. Fox moved to sit up, but then remembered he couldn't stand without feet. Falling onto the floor, Fox had just enough time to see his legs vanish, then his torso, then his arms, and—

**(Metal Gear Solid 2 – Arsenal's Guts – YouTube)**

Fox felt himself floating in the sea of darkness, his body weightless. He didn't know for how long. What happened on the _Great Fox II's_ bridge felt like a distant memory, an echo of a dream. Sensations began to return. He realized he wasn't floating in space, but in a strange, syrupy liquid. Fox opened his eyes, a faint purple light greeting them. He couldn't make out much beyond bubbles floating past him. Looking down, he saw an array of cables running across his naked body, plugged into sockets surgically implanted into his skin. A mask covered his muzzle, the device connected to a tube pumping him oxygen. His hands and feet brushed against walls, the space around him tight like a coffin.

Fox's eyes widened. He could feeling his heart pounding, his breathing coming back in short gasps. He moved his arms and legs, but they felt like they weighed several tons each. It took nearly all the strength he had just to budge one of his arms by a few inches, or even just make a fist with his hands. The slow-motion struggling soon tired him out. Fox settled back into a resting position, not knowing what to do now.

To think he'd spent thousands of virtual lives planning escape from that digital prison, thinking everything would be fine once he got out. Fox now realized he'd never once considered where he might end up escaping _to_. Trapped in this tank, he wondered if he was a naïve fool.

At least the tank's clear top allowed in light. Fox dreaded to think of being trapped underwater in this tiny space in complete darkness. He tried to make out what was on the other side of the glass (or whatever it was) but he couldn't see anything other than that violet hue. Unable to move, his mind buzzed with questions. Who was the son of a bitch that put him in here? For how long had he been in here? Were Krystal and his friends still alive? Where were they now? But even if they were close by, how would he get out of this thing? Would he be doomed to just remain trapped in here, forever? Or what if the oxygen pumping through the mask quit coming at some point?

Time passed, Fox unsure of how much. Every so often, he tried moving his limbs again. While his strength improved only by increments, it got easier with each attempt to raise his arms or his legs. But that wouldn't be enough to get out of this tank. Every push against the lid felt like trying to push a boulder off of his chest. The longer he floated inside his coffin, the more hopeless it all felt. Was he going to die like this? Trapped and all alone? That virtual Lylat started to feel like paradise in his mind now…

A humming noise vibrated through the tank, the liquid distorting the original sound. Fox's eyes widened. Thumping sounds approached, each one causing a slight vibration on the floor underneath him. A tall figure blocked the purple light above him. Fox pressed himself against the back of the tank, lying as still as possible. The figure leaned over, casting him in shadow. He couldn't make out the silhouette. It looked like a giant blob, the blurry top of the tank and liquid disrupting the profile. And yet Fox knew somehow the figure stared right at him. He tightened up his body as if to lash out, for all the good it did. But then the figure left just as fast as it appeared, thumping noises carrying it off to who knew where. Even so, Fox remained tense, terrified of whether the shadow might return. He didn't allow himself to relax until a few more minutes passed. That _thing_ was no anthro, whatever it was. It was too big, wide, and heavy to be one, even accounting for species like rhinos and elephants.

Gurgling sounds came up from the bottom of the tank, bubbles coming out of an unseen tube. The syrupy liquid began draining away. Fox gasped, his body becoming exposed to air. Without the liquid enveloping him, Fox felt like he was laying cold, wet, and naked on the surface of Fichina. He shivered, clutching his arms round his torso and shoulders in a vain attempt to warm himself. Fox blinked multiple times, trying to get that sticky fluid out of his eyes. The tank hummed, the clear cover above him retracting into an unseen slot. Within a few seconds, the lid finished withdrawing.

Fox's eyes darted about as he ascertained his surroundings. That purple light kept shining down on him from above, but now Fox could see dark violet hexagon tiles made up the ceiling. It looked like honeycombs. A quick glance showed the walls and floor to be made of the same material. His tank appeared to be raised off of the floor a few feet, the back of it plugged into a weird box-shaped machine by dozens of wires and pipes. Off to the right, an open arched doorway led out of the room. He could just leave right now, like he wanted to several minutes ago. Yet Fox held still and quiet, clutching his body tight to stop it shivering. Some of the liquid still clung to his body, leaving his fur sticky and unkempt.

Well, what would he do now? He couldn't just stay here, but that _thing_ was wandering around out there. On the other hand, what if it came back? Fox's eyes widened. He started to sit up…only to feel like he had lead for arms again. A painful reminder he still hadn't fully regained his strength. Still, Fox grunted with all his might to rise into a sitting position. With that done, he pulled the mask off of his face, coughing as he breathed the air in the room for the first time.

Now to deal with these wire things running into his body… He grasped one stuck into his shoulder and pulled. Fox grit his teeth, groaning from the pain. Pulling on it felt like trying to pull out a fish hook stuck through his skin. With one more yank, the wire popped out of the socket. Fox cried out, slamming a palm over the socket, feeling like he might faint from the sheer pain and agony. And that was just the first one… But with the lingering fear of that monster, Fox knew he couldn't stop now. He grabbed the second wire on his other shoulder, clenching his teeth as he pulled again…

After several more minutes, he got all of them off. The flesh surrounding the sockets felt like it was on fire. Fox breathed hard, trying to soothe the burning spots with rubbing. The vulpine took another glance at the door. That thing hadn't come back yet, thank goodness. Fox was worried it might hear his cries and moans. But now at long last he could escape.

With halting maneuvers, Fox slipped his legs over the lip of his tank, his feet dangling over the floor. He gave a little push with his hands, dropping the last few inches. His feet touched the ground…and Fox almost fell over, only saving himself by grabbing the tank's lip at the last second. His legs felt like jelly right now, shaking so much they hit each other over and over again. Not to mention his fur was still slick with that liquid, making his feet slide on the smooth flooring. Fox grunted, forcing himself to stand, leaning on the tank for support. He held the position for several moments, waiting until his legs got situated.

Fox let go of the tank, forcing his legs to take the full weight of his body. He gasped, wobbling around like a tree swaying in the wind. But Fox finally recovered, securing himself into a stand. Staring at the door, he took his first step. Legs buckled underneath him again, but Fox kept himself upright. Felt like learning to walk as a baby kit again. With slow and halting steps, he shambled towards the exit. After what felt like ages, Fox made it to the door.

A long, dark hallway greeted him on the other side, made of the same violet honeycomb material. Fox could barely see the door at the other end of the hall, his heart sinking at the sight. It took so much effort just to get to the door in this room... However, he spotted railings running along the passageway. Fox limped over to one of them, using it for support as he moved down the hallway. He schlepped himself along the wall, his wet fur leaving a sticky trail behind. How long was he in that tank? Fox glanced at his free arm as he walked, the limb looking twig-like and sickly.

While he felt better the more he regained his strength, Fox still felt scared out of his wits. If that monster came back, he'd be as helpless as a newborn kit. But then again, the tank opened up right after it left. Did it come into the room to let him out? Just more questions to add onto his already long list.

He reached the door at the end of the hallway, the panel sliding aside as he approached. Fox's eyes widened as he looked inside. A massive, black space greeted him on the other side of the doorway, so large and dark that Fox couldn't even see the ceiling or the other side of the room. It was like stepping into a huge underground cavern. Fox's steps echoing back to him as he entered the chamber. Columns stretched up into the darkness, each one with a diameter about as long as he was tall. An array of catwalks and supports ran between them, like a giant erector set.

The door slammed shut behind him. Fox spun around, the clank of metal on metal echoing around him for what felt like an eternity. And then a chorus of chittering sounds reverberated throughout the chamber, like insect mandibles clicking together. Fox tried to identify the where the sounds came from, but the acoustics of this place made it near impossible. The chittering quieted down, leaving Fox alone in silence again. He hunkered down, ears turning backwards and tail curling underneath his legs, trying to make himself as small as possible. With soft steps, Fox walked back to the door. But this time, it didn't open. He tugged on the side of the door, but it felt as unmovable as the surrounding walls.

Fox spun back around, pressing himself against the door as he scanned for movement. The chamber felt as silent as it had been before the door shut. What to do? The only way out was going forward into the unknown, while naked… He glanced to the left, then to the right. Maybe he could skirt the outer walls of this place, hopefully run into another door? Then he'd only have to look out for death from three directions instead of four… _And that's so much better, isn't it?_ Fox's inner thoughts dripped with sarcasm. Unless something was hiding above? Fox glanced up again, seeing nothing but those columns stretching up into the black. Well, he couldn't stay here either. Whatever made the chittering noise surely heard that slamming door. Left or right then?

Fox decided on right, in the direction of his dominant hand. He edged his way along the wall, trying to look everywhere at once as he took his journey one step at a time, wincing whenever he produced an echo. While he looked for threats, he occasionally glanced at those columns stretching up towards the ceiling. They were actually gigantic glass tubes, all of them filled with that strange liquid he'd been in before. Things floated inside the tubes too, and they looked organic. Like insect larvae or pupa. Those strange chittering noises…they sounded a bit like a swarm of bugs as well. Fox wondered if there was a connection. In fact, everything he'd seen since getting out of his tank felt familiar somehow. Why?

Tapping sounds could be heard above…like claws on a hard surface. Fox froze, glancing up wards. Again, he saw nothing but black. He started to look away but— Fox snapped his head back to the left. Did he see something on the outside of one of those glass tubes? Fox took a closer look, his heart beating faster. A black silhouette moved down the side of one of the lit tubes, like a spider crawling down the side of a wall. The multiple legs almost reached around one _entire half_ of the tube… The vulpine shivered, feeling a tingling sensation on the back of his neck as he watched that thing descend out of sight, making that clicking noise the whole way. And there was probably _more_ of them in the room too.

Did they see him? Did they know where he was? Fox didn't know, but he supposed it'd be a bad idea to stay where he was. He moved along the wall faster, timing his movements with the tapping sounds to conceal his own steps. But was it his imagination, or were those tapping noises getting _louder_? Fox stopped…and then the tapping stopped right when he stopped. He looked all around, but couldn't see anything following him. Fox took another few steps forward, and the tapping steps resumed, this time behind him. Fox stopped, and the tapping behind stopped again. _It_ sees _me…_ Fox shivered, wondering what he would do now. He wanted to look behind, but… What would happen if he did?

Fox took a deep breath. He couldn't believe he was about to do what he was thinking about, but there weren't any other options left. He tensed up his legs, hunching down, throwing his ears back. _On three…two…one…_ Fox took off sprinting as fast as he could, no longer caring about the noise he was making. The tapping footsteps growing closer and closer as he kept on the speed. Fox's legs felt like they were on fire, and his lungs struggled to cope with the demand, but the adrenaline surged through his body and kept him moving. Even so, Fox knew he couldn't keep this up for very long, not in his state. It was hopeless. He felt like a hundred-year-old man trying to do the hundred yard dash. That thing would catch him and—

A green blaster bolt flew out of the darkness. A loud screech assaulted Fox's ears, hot goo splattering all over his back. Fox slipped, falling to the floor and scraping along it for some distance. Completely out of breath and his stamina spent, Fox could do little but lie there. Shouts in Lylatian echoed round the chamber, more blaster bolts lighting up the darkness with neon green flashes.

"Over there! More of 'em! More of 'em!"

"Suppressing fire!"

"They're coming down from the ceiling! Get them get them!"

Fox heard the cracking of glass. One of the column tubes burst open, letting out a deluge of more of the syrupy fluid. It washed over him, briefly pushing him underwater. After the liquid washed away, Fox just laid there in the goo, unable to do little now but just wait for it all to end. Eventually the shooting stopped. Squishy footsteps came his way through the liquid, shadowy figures forming a ring around him. Fox felt himself being hoisted up by powerful arms, raising him into a stand. Meanwhile, one of the unknown men stepped forward.

"Holy shit, it's you!"

Fox recognized the voice, but was unable to see much in the dim light. However, the voice's figure brought out a flashlight and turned it on, revealing a face. Gray fur. Pointed ears. Long muzzle with sharp teeth. Eyepatch. A grin ear to ear as he looked McCloud up and down. Wolf O'Donnell.

"Hey kiddo…good to see you again!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**(Resident Evil 2 – The Marshalling Yard ~ Second Half – YouTube)**

Was this real? One minute Fox thought he was about to get hacked to death by giant freaky bugs, and now he stood face to face with his old nemesis Wolf O'Donnell. The vulpine glanced at the two soldiers holding him up, recognizing Wolf's compatriots Panther Caruso and Leon Powalski. All of them wore black combat gear and wielded high wattage laser rifles. And Wolf still had that giant smile on his face… _Why is he looking at me like that?_ Meanwhile, Leon and Panther looked at Fox like he'd come back from the dead, eyes wide and silent.

And was it just the darkness playing tricks on him, or did the three of them seem older now? New scars and wrinkles marked Wolf's face, his fur wild, tangled, and askew. Bags hung under his eyes, like he hadn't gotten adequate sleep for months. As for Panther, Fox remembered the cat always strove to keep his black coat a perfect reflective sheen, yet some white hairs stood out now. Leon's pebbly reptile skin looked somewhat faded, rather than the bright verdant color it normally shone in. The texture reminded Fox of old leather now.

"W-Wolf…" Fox hung from Leon's and Panther's grasp, feeling like a limp ragdoll. His chest heaved as he breathed, exhausted from running from that monster just now. It took so much effort just to keep his head held up. "W-What's going on? Why are you here?"

"That's what I was going to say…" The lupine tilted his head, glancing at Fox from multiple angles. "Is that really you, kiddo?"

Fox blinked, not knowing what to make of the question. Hell, with what he'd been through since escaping the simulation, he didn't know what to think about _anything_ anymore. _Assuming this_ is _outside the simulation, anyway…_ "Y-yeah… It's me." What else could be said at this point?

Wolf reached out, running a coarse, meaty hand along Fox's shoulders and the side of his face. The lupine's smile faded, as he noticed something. Lowering his hand, Wolf touched one of the wire sockets implanted into Fox's skin. Fox winced, grunting as the burning sensation came back.

"Sorry…" Wolf withdrew his hand. "Don't worry Fox. We'll get you out of here, and we'll get those off you. Still…I can't believe this. You…" Wolf looked Fox's nude form up and down once again, even moving to glance along his backside. "You're basically intact."

Fox frowned. "Intact…?"

"I'm just surprised all they did was stick some nuts and bolts in you. I don't see any infection on you." Wolf continued to give Fox a very careful examination as he spoke, trying to glance at him from as many angles as possible. "We all thought you were dead. Or assimilated…"

"Assim…assimilated?" Fox stammered, his voice unsteady from being cold, wet, and naked.

"Yeah…" Wolf nodded. Recognizing Fox's discomfort, he turned to Panther and Leon. "Set him down fellas."

They rested him against the nearby wall, the hard surfaces cold against his body. Fox let his head hang down, too tired to keep it up.

Wolf squatted down to McCloud's eye level, laying his laser rifle across his knees. "Listen McCloud, we need to get you out of here. You're not looking good, and I bet the top brass will have a million questions for you. But there's something important we have to do first. Did you see a giant monster running around in here just now? Like about twenty feet tall?" Wolf spread his hands out vertically for emphasis. "Loud footsteps?"

Fox jerked his head back up. _The thing I saw when I was in the tank?_ While dreading the memory, for some reason he felt relieved when Wolf asked the question. Like if Wolf saw the monster too, Fox didn't imagine it and he wasn't going crazy. Feeling tired, Fox just nodded.

"Good…" Wolf leaned in closer. "Did you see where it went?"

Fox shook his head. "I was trapped in a tank. It l-looked at me, then it left…" Even speaking felt like a burden, Fox's lungs heaving to get oxygen.

"Trapped in a tank?" Wolf glanced off to the side as if to ponder that, before shaking his head. "Never mind, we'll talk about that later. We need to find her first."

"Her…?"

"The Aparoid Queen…" Wolf's eye narrowed, a small snarl escaping his lips. "That was her."

Fox's jaw dropped. "But…but I killed her." He forced himself to speak, despite his weakness. "I remember it. The Aparoid homeworld blew up."

Wolf narrowed his eye. "What are you talking about, Fox? Where do you think you are right now?" He waved at the chamber around them, still filled with the fresh bug corpses. "Listen…I don't know what happened to you, but this _is_ the Aparoid homeworld. This is the first time we've seen you or any trace of Star Fox in the last ten years."

"Wh-wha?! Ten…ten years?" Fox turned to Panther and Leon, but both of them only returned blank stares.

Wolf himself looked surprised at Fox's response. "Yeah, the Queen…" He paused, as if not sure to continue, but decided to keep going. "She… She captured you and the rest of Star Fox back then, ten years ago."

Fox felt a chill running down his back. He'd been trapped in there for ten years? What did the Queen do to Lylat while he was in there? He shuddered to think about all the terrible possibilities.

"Well…" Wolf laid a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Now I guess _you_ have a million questions too, huh? But I'm afraid they'll have to wait. We have to kill the Queen before she gets away again." The lupine reached up to his computerized eyepatch, tapping a button on the side of it. After returning to a stand, he scanned the cavernous chamber, turning his neck at a slow pace. Wolf pointed a finger off into the distance. "There…she went that way. I'm picking up her pheromones."

"But what are we going to do with Fox?" Leon asked. "We can't just leave him here."

Fox found it weird that it was _Leon_ of all people pointing that out.

Wolf glanced down at Fox again. His ears folded back for a moment, as if irritated. "Fox, I am glad to see you again, but this does put us in a bind. One of us will have to carry you back."

"Will two of us be enough to kill the Queen?" Panther asked.

Wolf looked like he didn't want to split up the group, but... "We'll have to risk it. She'll get away if we wait for backup." Wolf slipped a fresh battery into his laser rifle, checking the charge. "Who's taking Fox out of here?"

Panther raised his hand right after Wolf stopped talking. "I'll do it."

"Huh, that was fast." Wolf smirked. "All right. Panther, take Fox back to our evac point. Leon, let's go."

"Lead the way, boss." Leon smiled, raising his rifle up.

The two of them rushed off, their footsteps echoing back as they faded into the darkness. That left Fox alone with Panther… _Why does he want to help me so badly?_

Panther grinned, extending a hand. "You up for walking, Fox? We need to go, now."

Fox's chest still heaved a bit, his body not fully recovered yet in between atrophy and needing to run from that bug before. But Panther was right about needing to go. As if to emphasize the point, echoes of blaster shots and insect chittering came from the direction Wolf and Leon went. Fox snatched Panther's hand, Panther dragging him up. He swayed into a stand, his legs still feeling like rubber underneath him.

Panther glanced down at Fox's shaking legs. "Sure you're OK?"

"Uh…" Fox leaned against the nearby wall to stabilize himself. "I'll push through it."

Panther let his laser rifle hang off his back by the strap, offering Fox his shoulder. "Here, lean on me."

Fox didn't need to be told twice. Panther took Fox's arm and slung it over the back of his head, shouldering some of Fox's weight. The pair of them hobbled off, Panther leading them to an exit out of the cavernous room. They entered another hallway, like the one outside the room Fox woke up in. The corridor soon separated into a T-junction, Panther taking the left one. Then another T-junction appeared, Panther choosing right this time. More splits and junctures soon followed. Fox wondered how Panther knew where he was going. But then he noticed every turn Panther chose led to a trail of pockmarked walls, insect corpses on the floor, and alien ichor splattered on every surface. The vulpine shivered, wondering what he would have done had Star Wolf not been down here. Talk about crazy luck.

"So uh…" Fox sighed. "How do we get out of here?"

"Our Wolfens," Panther replied. "That's our evac."

"Wolfens?"

"Yeah… We flew down here into the planet's core to hunt down the Queen, like you did the first time." Panther kept talking as they hobbled along. "She's a tough old bitch. No wonder you lost to her. Every time we thought we killed her, she just changed her body and we had to shoot her even more. Wolf got tired of that after a while, so we launched all of our smart bombs for one last strike. That blew her to kingdom come…or so we thought. She just shed her blackened outer skin like it was a cocoon and made herself smaller. Then she ran through a door that led down here, into this maze. We left behind the Wolfens and chased her on foot. Speaking of the Wolfens…" Panther drew a laser pistol, checking the charge as they walked. "I hope we don't have some more Aparoid friends waiting for us when we get back there. None of us felt good about leaving our ships behind, but the Queen…" Panther's yellow eyes narrowed into a razor sharp point, venom entering his voice. "That bitch needs to die, no matter the cost."

Fox's eyes widened at the change of tone. He'd never known Panther to speak that way before.

The dark corridors ran on and on, the whole journey a blur in Fox's head. After years in that tank, his body wasn't up for this much physical activity so soon. Fox couldn't breathe right, his chest hurting and his heart feeling it might burst from his chest with how fast it raced. _Feels like I'm going to have a heart attack…_ But just when Fox almost gave up, they arrived at a tall doorway. A massive cylindrical chamber opened up on the other side, lit only by the same dark violet lights in the previous rooms. The angular silhouettes of three Wolfens dominated the center of the room. A strange feeling touched Fox's body. He looked down, seeing his fur rustling from wind. _Wind? Indoors?_ Fox stared up, and then almost fell over backwards. The column-shaped room stretched so far above his head he couldn't even see the top of it. Strange purple lines of energy pulsed upwards along the walls, making the vertical room feel even taller.

A click interrupted Fox's gazing. Looking back to Panther, Fox saw him scanning the room with the business end of his blaster. Realizing the area wasn't safe yet, the vulpine cast an eye around the room as well, searching for any sign of enemies. But they seemed to be alone here, the only sounds their footsteps and Fox's heavy breathing.

Panther took a few steps back, moving them back into the doorway they'd walked through. He laid Fox against the frame. "Wait here…" Panther whispered, swapping his pistol for his rifle.

Gun at the ready, Panther stepped over to the nearest Wolfen, waving his weapon underneath it. When he didn't find anything, he moved over towards the next Wolfen, doing the same check. And then Fox couldn't see him in the darkness anymore. Panther's black clothes and black coat made for perfect camouflage in the low purple light. A few quiet minutes passed, Fox's eyes alert and darting about. The pointed ears on his head twitched and rotated, trying to pick up any sounds. Nothing returned but the deafening sound of silence. By now, he felt like a scared, feral fox instead of a sentient one…the impression helped along by still being naked.

A dark silhouette appeared from behind one of the Wolfens, materializing out of the shadows so smoothly Fox wasn't sure if it was movement at first. Fox went rock still, the figure approaching him. A flashlight lit up, showing Panther's face. Fox breathed a sigh of relief.

He seemed amused at Fox's reaction, but otherwise made no comment on it. "Looks like we're alone," Panther whispered. "I'll put you in my Wolfen. You'll be safer there. Come here."

Panther shouldered Fox again, the two of them hobbling to the nearest fighter. Leaning Fox against the landing strut, Panther pushed some buttons on a wrist-mounted device. The cockpit hissed open, a ladder descending out of an opening to grant access. Meanwhile, a second compartment opened nearby, showing emergency supplies inside like a medkit, a flashlight, and rations. Panther reached inside, pulling out a dark green emergency blanket.

"Here, take this." Panther chuckled. "You look like you need it."

Fox snatched it away from the black cat, his own speed even surprising himself. After wrapping himself in the cloth, the blanket reminded Fox of sitting in front of a warm fireplace, like he'd just hiked through miles of snow to rest in front of the fire in a log cabin. Fox smiled, closing his eyes as he just leaned against the fighter, letting his trapped body heat wash over him.

"Guess that hit the spot." Panther grinned, then he pointed his thumb up to the cockpit. "Ready to go up?"

Fox's eyes opened. He'd been in such a trance he'd already forgotten Panther mentioning that before. He glanced at the top of the Wolfen's entry ladder. Even though he'd climbed the steps into fighters thousands of times, this time the ladder felt so much taller than normal…like twice or even thrice as high. But he supposed it'd be a small burden to bear if he got to sit down again. Fox nodded at Panther.

Starting the climb, Fox realized he'd been correct to feel like this was going to be harder than usual. His legs felt heavy as he tried pulling them up each step. But when he couldn't make the next step, Panther gave him a helping push from below. Upon reaching the top, Fox let out a loud groan as he swung his first leg into the cockpit, followed up by the second one. The vulpine settled into the seat, letting himself melt into it as he threw the blanket around himself again. The snug space helped him trap heat even better. He smiled, closing his eyes again as he rested there.

Panther reached the top as well, taking a seat on the fighter's nose, letting his legs dangle off the side. Despite the casual posture, Fox could still see Panther's yellow eyes scanning the darkness for threats. Neither of them spoke, not that it bothered Fox though. He just wanted to rest after that long walk…

But alas, Panther broke the silence after a few minutes. "This bothers me…" Panther whispered. "Why didn't the Queen send something here to destroy the fighters while we were gone? If she did that, we'd be trapped down here."

Fox didn't have any idea, and at the moment he didn't care. He kept his eyes shut.

Too bad Panther wanted to keep talking. "May I ask you something?"

Fox opened one eye, seeing Panther looking over at him. "What?" That came out sounding more annoyed than Fox wanted it to.

Panther didn't seem to notice though. "If you're down here, then Krystal…is she down here too?" He leaned forward, attention rapt for what Fox would say. "Did she get put in a tank like you did?"

Fox's heart skipped a beat. Krystal… He'd forgotten about her completely, and the others. A small amount of shame coursed through Fox's mind. Even if he couldn't have done much to help them like this, he felt guilty thinking only of himself ever since he got out of that tank. Where were they now, anyway?

"I…I don't know… " Fox lowered his head, staring down into the footwell. "I haven't seen anyone since I got out, besides you, Wolf and Leon. I wish I could tell you more…"

Panther's ears drooped at the news. "That's unfortunate…" He returned to looking out at the darkness around them. "I'd love to see Krystal again…"

Fox sighed, his eyelids starting to feel heavy again. Then a realization struck him. Eyes shooting back open, Fox turned to Panther again. "Hey… You only asked about Krystal." He glared at the cat. "You're not thinking of—"

Panther belt out a hearty laugh, the sound echoing in the space. "Ah, I'm sorry Fox. Seeing you again gets me feeling nostalgic. Old habits you know."

Fox tilted his head. "Old habits?"

Panther reached into a pocket on his uniform, pulling out a golden wedding band with a big stupid grin on his face.

Fox's jaw dropped. "No way…you?"

"That's right." Panther smirked, putting the ring away. "I've even got cubs now." Panther fished a small photo out of another pocket. He handed it to Fox. It showed Panther with a black panthress and five black cubs of various ages, all of them sitting in front of Panther's Wolfen. Tears and fraying marked the edges of the picture, as if it got pulled it out a lot. Panther's face glowed with pride as he pointed to everyone in the photo in turn. "There's my wife Sofía, plus the little ones Carlos, Diego, Mercedes, Julia, and Lucia. Most precious little things in this galaxy to me."

"I can't believe it…" Fox's eyes widened. He could never imagine Panther the playboy settling down with anybody.

"Yeah…" Panther put the photograph back. "Little hard to chase tail when the entire Lylat System's a warzone. So I figured I'd just take the plunge, and I found out I actually like it. Besides…" the warm smile faded, Panther taking on a more somber tone. "With how many people who've died over the past ten years, we all need to do our part to repopulate Lylat now…"

Fox felt afraid to ask, but… "What's happened to Lylat after all this time?"

Panther looked down at his rifle, not able to face Fox. "A lot…most of it bad. After we lost you, we had to pull back through the Orbital Gate along with the rest of the Cornerian Fleet. The Queen…she attacked the Lylat System again with a second invasion force. First thing she did was destroy the Orbital Gate so we couldn't strike her homeworld anymore. And then she turned her attention to Corneria…" Panther trailed off, a pained tone in his voice.

Fox knew he wouldn't like what Panther was about to say next, but figured he might as well hear it now. "She…she destroyed it?"

Panther shook her head. "Worse. Assimilated it. Corneria City looks just like this place now…" Panther waved at the honeycombed walls around them.

Fox's jaw dropped, his mind putting terrible images in his head of that. Blood red skies…purple buildings…insects crawling and stalking through the shadows… Twisted silhouettes of former Lylatians corrupted into something much more horrifying…

"The second time she took no chances," Panther continued. "She sent a force twice as big as the first one, and the Cornerian fleet was already in bad shape after the first invasion. Didn't take long for everyone to figure out Corneria was going to fall. The Cornerian fleet staged a mass evacuation. Every spaceship, big or small, public or private, was commandeered by the Cornerian military, filled to capacity… But there were too many people, not enough ships, not enough time… Riots broke out to get on the last few transports, the Queen's forces hot on the heels of everyone still trying to escape... A lot of people got left behind in the confusion. They became the Queen's new army. We've been fighting them ever since…"

Panther wiped a hand along his eyes, sniffling.

"After we watched Corneria fall, the three of us, Star Wolf… We made a decision…" Panther's eyes narrowed, his mouth going taut into a frown. "We thought about just packing up and leaving Lylat to its fate. But in the end, we decided to stay. Wolf told us this… If Lylat fell, the Queen would gain a foothold in our galaxy…an entire system's worth of life forms and resources to mold into a new, massive force. And then she'd use that to assimilate even more systems. After seeing what she did to Corneria, we knew we couldn't let her go any further. So Wolf talked to what was left of the Cornerian military, offered them everything and everyone we had at Sargasso, and they welcomed us with open arms. They needed all the help they could get, never mind who it was. We stopped the Queen from taking any more planets after that, but she fought us tooth and nail to keep every inch of our territory. It's only been in the past year or two we've been able to strike back. Beltino built a new Orbital Gate…and here we are now. But we lost a lot of ships and a lot of people to get back to this damn planet a second time. If we don't kill the Queen today, there won't be a third time. That's why Wolf wants that bitch dead so badly." He glanced over at Fox. "I think you understand the stakes now."

It was a lot to take in… Too much for Fox in his delicate state. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, his breaths coming back short and ragged. Millions…if not billions dead or assimilated… Corneria corrupted by that witch. And a dark realization struck him as he contemplated the losses. _It's my fault. I didn't kill the Queen. If I killed her the first time, none of this would have happened._ Tears welled up in Fox's eyes, running down his face. "It's my fault… My fault…" Fox choked, crying out the words. Tears ran down Fox's face. " _I…I fucked up…_ "

"Fox…no no no!" Panther moved back across the nose of the fighter, jumping back on the stepladder so he could stand beside Fox. "Fox, please… Don't be so hard on yourself. You and Star Fox did everything…gave everything you had to save Lylat. Even your lives... No one, no one talks about how you failed. Instead they talk about your sacrifice. Trust me… Once we get you out of here, everyone's going to be amazed. There's going to be people dancing and cheering in the streets."

Tears ran down Fox's face, as he looked up at Panther.

Panther gave him a warm smile. "You guys are martyrs to us now. You, Krystal, Peppy, Falco, Slippy. 'Remember Star Fox!'" Panther gave a flourish with his hand. "That's what the Cornerian generals said when we started the attack today. Believe me… I'm not going to let you die…not now that the war's almost over. Lylat needs you, and your team. They need you to inspire then. We'll need all the morale we can get, once we go back to Lylat to start rebuilding again… "

Fox couldn't speak, he was so stunned by the words coming out of Panther's mouth. In Fox's mind, Panther normally never seemed to think farther than the next girl. To hear him talk about such grandiose things, it felt so strange and alien. Was what he said true? Even while MIA, he and Star Fox inspired the people in Lylat that much? And they wanted to see Star Fox that badly? It felt so amazing, yet also like a huge weight on his shoulders… But the next words floored Fox even more.

"Trust me Fox. Even if I wasn't married, it just wouldn't be right for me to get between you and Krystal now. Besides…" Panther snuck a peak downwards, then grinned in Fox's face. "Now that I've seen you in just your pelt, I realize I never had a chance."

Fox felt his face burning at that, wondering if Panther could see the glowing in the darkness. But once he got over the surprise, Fox couldn't help but let a small giggle escape. Panther smiled right back. In spite of everything Panther dropped on him before, that little snark helped take some of the edge off.

"So anyway…" Panther started up the conversation again. "You woke up in a tank? Why were you in there?"

"It's…" Fox blinked. What could he say? He could talk for days or weeks about the things he did in that simulation. Just thinking about it made him feel exhausted. He let out a sigh. "Uh…it's a really long story Panther. I'd like to rest right now, if that's ok."

"Fair enough…" Panther shrugged, glancing at the door they'd used to enter this chamber. "Hope you get to see the rest of your team again…"

Fox looked over at the door himself, but no one was there.

"Say, I just had a thought." Panther turned to face Fox again.

"What?"

"Krystal, she's a telepath, right? She can read minds?" Panther pointed at his head.

"I guess so… Actually we…" A realization hit Fox. "Since we know each other so well, we can talk to each other telepathically... I'm the only person who can speak to Krystal that way."

"You can?" Panther raised his eyebrows. Then he chuckled. "Well, that's news to me. I sure didn't get _that_ far with her."

"Yes…" Fox looked at the darkness around the ship. "I wonder if I reach out to her, maybe she'll answer..."

Panther scanned the room again, as if hoping to spot Krystal himself. "I suppose it's worth a shot. Not much to do until Wolf and Leon get back here anyway."

"Okay…" Fox took a deep breath, closing his eyes and clearing his mind. "I'll give it a try." He sought out the familiar feeling of Krystal's own mind. _Krystal… Are you out there? Can you hear me?_

Fox waited for a few minutes, but received no reply.

"Nothing?" Panther asked.

Fox shook his head. "I'll do it again." Eyes closed, breathing steady, mind focused. _Krystal, please… Are you there?_

No answer. Even if reaching out to her like this was a long shot, Fox felt his heart sinking the longer he waited. He decided to try one more time. _Krys… If you're anywhere down here, please give me an answer._

… _f…F…._

Fox's eyes scrunched up. Was that her? It sounded distant…like an echo travelling down a mountain valley from miles away. Nonetheless he focused harder on that faint voice.

_Krys? Is that you?_

_Fooooooox…_

He gasped, his eyes shooting open. The voice sounded female. But whoever that was, it wasn't Krystal. This vice sounded eerie, rasping, reptilian…like an old dying woman wrapped in rags in a derelict hovel somewhere. Yet Fox could still sense darkness… _evil_ …behind the words. Even with the warm blanket wrapped around him, he trembled as he listened.

_Flesh and bone… Flesh and bone… It's so frail. It's a miracle you creatures live so long, even if it's only for mere decades._

Fox's heart pounded. This telepathy link was something sacred, to only be shared between himself and Krystal. For someone to simply steal Krystal's place in their link… It shook Fox to his very core. And it raised a frightening question. Steeling himself, Fox closed his eyes, reaching out to the other voice again. _Where's Krystal? Who are you?_

The voice ignored the question, rambling onwards. _It is impossible for me to understand why you wish to remain in such inferior forms. Why do you reject our gift of immortality?_

She sounded familiar, and the things she spoke about… _Wait…you're the Queen?_

_You are correct, Fox McCloud._

Fox's ears hardened, flattening against his head, a snarl escaping his mouth. _What have you done with Krystal?!_

_How do you think I attained this power, Fox?_

Fox went into a full on growl, his tail thrashing in the seat behind him. _You…you assimilated her. You_ _ **bitch**_ _._ He could hear Panther shouting something, shaking his body, but Fox focused his mind on the Queen. _That's why she disappeared from the simulation the last time I saw her. You…you took her._

_Why do you continue to resist us? We only wish to bring peace and prosperity to all forms of life within the universe. Join us and live forever. Live forever with Krystal._

_Wolf and Leon will destroy you_. _The Cornerian military will clean up what's left. It's over for you._

_Many species, civilizations, and races before you have said similar things. They are now a part of us. We are inevitable. Everything in this universe exists for us. Bow before us! Submit to-_

_Would you_ _ **shut up?**_ Fox clenched his fists around the chair's armrests. _I've heard all that before. You put it in that fake memory where I killed you. I'm tired of you putting bullshit in my head. No more games. Now it's time to die for real, space hag. Say your prayers. This ends today._

Silence. Fox waited for a reply, but none came. Did that actually shut her up? He sensed a sinister motivation behind the silence… Nonetheless, Fox opened his eyes, allowing himself to come back to the real world. He felt himself back in the cockpit of the Wolfen. Turning his head to the left, he saw Panther hanging off of the Wolfen's entry ladder, looking worried at Fox.

"Fox…what was that?" Panther asked. "You were…snarling, and growling, and yelling. I couldn't tell what was going on."

"The Queen…" Fox shivered. "That was her talking to me. She's…she's assimilated Krystal."

Panther almost fell off the ladder, shocked by the news. "She did?!"

Fox nodded.

Panther's eyes went into a thousand yard stare. "She's assimilated. It's so horrible…so terrible…so…magnificent."

Fox's eyes widened at the last word, looking back at Panther. He noticed Panther's mouth twisting into a thin smile. "Panther…" Fox gulped. "What was that?"

"I said it was…magnificent," Panther spoke _in the Queen's voice_ as he stared at Fox square in the face, tilting his head down and looking up from underneath his eyebrows.

Fox gasped, sliding back as far as he could away from Panther. But sitting in such a small cockpit, he didn't have anywhere to go.

Panther leaned into the cockpit, leering at Fox. "It's funny you should mention the simulation Fox. Tell me, are you sure you're actually outside of it right now?" Panther traced a hand along one of Fox's legs, head tilted to the side as that sneer stayed plastered on his face. "Or is this just your ten thousandth, four-hundredth and sixty-second life in my virtual world?"

Fox shook, his tail puffing up in terror underneath his blanket. Panther had him completely trapped. He smirked, putting a hand to Fox's face. "What's wrong? Where has all of your bravado gone?"

He trembled, Panther's claws dancing along the side of Fox's face…and then down to his neck. "The mortal mind…such a fragile, fleeting thing. All it took was one suggestion, and now everything you know is wrong. Up is down. Left is right. Black is white." Panther kept talking in the Queen's rasping voice the whole time, pressing the claws a little harder against Fox's neck. He winced, feeling blood dripping down along his neck to his shoulders. "How can you hope to resist me? I adapt. I survive. I am immortal. I am timeless. You and your puerile civilization are not."

Without warning, Fox shoved Panther as hard as he could, sending the cat tumbling off of the Wolfen's ladder. Panther cried out, hitting the floor with a sickening smack. Gulping, Fox peered out over the side, seeing what he'd just done.

"Aaaah!" Panther cried out, this time in his normal voice. He rubbed a hand on the back of his head, staring up at Fox with a death glare. "Fox! What the hell did you do that for?!"

Fox blinked, dumbfounded by the change in voice again. "Is…is that you Panther?"

"Of course it's me, who else would it be?" Panther pulled himself off the floor, still with a hand on the back of his head. "Why'd you push me? I was just seeing if you were all right! You fell asleep, and then you looked like you were having a seizure just then."

Fox rubbed the side of his neck…feeling the pain from Panther's claw marks. "But you cut me in the neck…"

"I know, I'm sorry about that. You were just struggling so much I accidentally cut you with my claws. You just have a bad dream there?"

Fox rubbed the side of his neck again. "I…guess so. I'm not really sure…" That was an understatement. Fox looked around the room. What the Queen said… Was it true? Did she assimilate Krystal? Was he out of the simulation or still inside it? Was it just a nightmare?

Panther didn't seem to notice Fox's freak out though. "Well, just hang on a little bit longer, all right? We shouldn't be down here too much longer…" Panther's radio emitted a burst of static. He brought it to his mouth. "Hey Wolf, that you?"

Fox couldn't hear much through the bad reception of the radio, but whatever Wolf said put Panther in a panic. "Oh…oh shit! Okay, I've got it!" Panther put his radio away, turning back up to Fox. "Fox, close the canopy. She's coming!"

"Who?"

"The Queen! And she's moving fast! Wolf and Leon are chasing her, but she's going to be here any—"

An piercing screech blasted out from the cylindrical room's exit, the noise sounding like a mix between a wailing woman and ear-splitting microphone feedback, amplified a hundred times. Fox grit his teeth, his ears twisting backwards and flattened against the back of his head. And then the floor started to rumble underneath the Wolfen, faint at first, but soon picking up in tempo and intensity.

Fox stabbed at the button to close the cockpit, the clear canopy sealing him inside the Wolfen. He didn't feel much safer. It felt like trying to protect himself by hiding inside a giant glass bottle. Something the size of that _thing_ he remembered could easily pick up the bottle and just smash it…

Nonetheless, Panther raised up his rifle, steadying his aim as he trained the gun on the door. "Here she comes!"

A huge, amorphous black shape burst forth out of the large doorway, running straight for the Wolfen. Within seconds the darkness filled Fox's entire field of view outside the fighter, covering him in an all-encompassing shadow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**(Star Fox: Assault – Aparoid Queen 2 - YouTube)**

Before Fox had time to blink, the black shape covered the Wolfen in darkness, slamming into it. Fox's head banged off the headrest behind him from the impact, and before he could recover his head got whipped to the side, slamming into the canopy's glass. Felt like he was in a barrel being thrown down a hill. Fox saw stars in his eyes, pain flashing through his head, but at least the shaking stopped for a moment. Fox fumbled around in the dark for the seatbelts and restraints, hurrying to put them on. As he finished, he heard the sound of metal creaking underneath the Wolfen, before something snapped. Fox's eyes widened, feeling himself and the Wolfen in free fall. But just a second later, Fox slammed back down hard into the seat, crying out as his head banged off the headrest again. _The landing gear struts…_ The monster's weight must have snapped them like twigs. And now Fox heard the canopy above him cracking. Squeaking and tearing sounds rattled the aircraft, the unseen monster above tearing at the ship. If he didn't do something fast, the Wolfen would get flattened like a pancake with him inside.

Fox's hands flew over the cockpits controls. But this wasn't an Arwing, and Fox didn't know the Wolfen's control layout. He pushed the buttons at random, hoping to get lucky. The Queen's mass kept pressing down on the ship, the metal frame groaning in protest. Fox caught a break at last, as he managed to push the button to power up the cockpit's lights and controls.

"Warning… Structural integrity compromised," the computer droned.

It would have been funny were it not for the thing Fox saw overhead now. Behind the spiderwebbing canopy, the insect underbelly of the Queen thrashed against the glass. A giant mouth snapped open and shut, the mandibles sometimes wrapping themselves around the glass's spherical shape and leaving behind cuts. Fox didn't need any more motivation. Finding the start button, he slammed it home. A spooling noise filled the cockpit, a comforting vibration rising up through his behind all the way up to his head. _Can't get her off while I'm grounded. I have to get airborne!_ Fox found the throttle on his right, pushing it forward as far as it would go. The VTOL thrust jets' sound intensified into a roar. Fox could feel the Wolfen rising up into the air inch by inch, but its engines weren't designed to cope with this extra weight.

"Warning…" the monotone computer said. "Engine burnout imminent. Reduce thrust."

Sweat rolled down the side of Fox's head. What would he do now? Looking down, he spotted the trigger on the flight stick. _Of course!_ He'd been so scared he forgot about the guns. Fox clutched the flight stick, squeezing down the trigger. Accompanied by the thundering cannons, strobing green flashes lit up the horrifying creature above him. The Queen shrieked as the plasma cannons drilled into her flesh at point blank range, flopping sideways off the ship to get away. Now free of its burden, the Wolfen shot upwards with a jolt. Fox gasped, pulling the throttle back to go into a hover. He took a moment to visually inspect the ship's exterior. Tears, scrapes, and dents covered almost every metal panel. The Wolfen seemed flyable for the time being, but most of the metrics were in the yellow.

Fox spared a glance downwards, getting his first proper look at the Queen's new form. It looked like a giant moth or butterfly. Huge, triangular wings beat back and forth, showing off a purple coloration along with brighter-glowing pink circles near the tips. Fuzzy antennae whipped around, sprouting out of the creature's head. Red eyes glowed above the clicking mouth. Six legs sprouted out of its huge thorax, the body a darker violet color.

Meanwhile, Fox could see the green flashes of three laser rifles below, each one highlighting a Star Wolf member as they fired upon the Queen. If the shots hurt her, she didn't show it. The Queen swung one of her massive wings around, slapping aside Wolf like a ragdoll. The lupine flew across the circular room, crashing into the outer wall. Although he couldn't hear the sounds from up here, Fox winced as he watched, almost feeling his own bones rattling just from the sight.

Panther chucked a grenade at the Queen. It ignited into a massive geyser of fire in midair, the flammable jelly landing on her back. She shrieked again, Fox's ears peeling back at the noise. The giant monster retaliated by blasting a black powdery substance into the air. Panther caught some of it on his rifle and his body armor. Even from here, Fox could see the rifle melting and smoking in Panther's hands, the powder eating away at it like acid. The cat dropped the gun, ripping off his body armor as fast as he could before the acid ate into his flesh underneath. But the Queen didn't give Panther a chance to finish, using one of her wings to smack him across the floor like a hockey puck.

Not content to watch anymore, Fox wheeled the Wolfen around and pointed the hovering ship downwards. Twin green plasma bolts ripped across the Queen's body, leaving singe marks wherever they struck. She cried out as her wings whipped back and forth, beating so fast Fox could feel the wind pushing him around. Fox smirked as he watched her reaction. But soon the Queen turned to face him, pointing her head straight up at McCloud. Before Fox could blink, the Queen jumped off the floor, flying towards him like a giant missile. Fox jerked the stick to the right, only just avoiding the Queen body slamming the Wolfen. Fox sighed, but then a big clang reverberated through the ship, Fox gritting his teeth at the impact. Looking to the port, Fox realized he'd slammed into the cylindrical chamber's outer wall with that maneuver, ripping off one of the Wolfen's four wings.

"Warning… Port side VTOL nozzle malfunction."

Fox could feel the fighter stuttering in the air, as the VTOL nozzle's thrust sputtered in and out. Before he could even run a diagnostic check, violet plasma blasts slammed into the starboard side of the Wolfen, almost knocking Fox's head into the side of the canopy again. He felt grateful he managed to get the restraints on before. Looking to the right, Fox spotted the Queen clinging to the circular wall across the chamber from him, just like a normal moth would stick to a wall. The plasma balls kept flying at him, shooting out of the pink glowing circles on the back of her wings. She had a perfect shot at him from that spot.

Fox turned the ship around, but she fired another salvo at him before he could get the Wolfen pointed the right way. He jerked the stick upwards to dodge the salvo, but then realized he was headed for the wall again. The vulpine jerked the stick left again…but then caught another plasma ball straight to the underside. Another VTOL nozzle flashed red on the console, apparently having taken the hit. Now two of his VTOL jets were starting to sputter, reducing his ability to maneuver. Fox was learning the hard way he didn't have much space to maneuver the Wolfen here. Felt like he was trying to fight while flying around someone's living room.

And if the Queen stayed up here, he'd be a sitting duck. Maybe the best defense would be a good offense. While the Queen fired off more blasts, Fox tanked the hits and unleashed another torrent of twin laser blasts. The Queen shrieked again, her body recoiling at the shots, but she kept up her own fireworks display, peppering the Wolfen with blasts. Warning sirens blared at Fox as most of the gauges went into the red. It was a battle of endurance, and Fox realized he was going to lose first if he didn't do something fast. Looking around the cockpit again, Fox spotted a small red button next to the trigger on the flight stick. He didn't know what it would do, but decided to give it a try. Pushing it down, he heard a loud humming noise coming from the ship underneath him. The ship slammed backwards as the cannons fired, a terrific noise filling the air. Twin glowing white plasma bolts rocketed away from the Wolfen, striking the Queen right on her exposed back. The resulting flash blinded Fox, the noise deafening to his ears. The Wolfen shook like it was in an earthquake, the alarm klaxons assaulting Fox's ears with equal ferocity to the blast.

But did it kill the Queen? As Fox's vision returned, Fox saw the Queen beating her wings furiously. She still hadn't let go of the wall. In fact, she redoubled her attack, filling the air with twice as many violet energy balls. It felt like trying to dodge rain avoiding them. The Wolfen got pelted again and again no matter what Fox did. One of the balls struck the portside engine, causing it to go from red to black on the status screen in front of Fox. The Wolfen began to list to port, Fox needing to pull the stick the other way with all his might just to stay in one place. The Queen capitalized on this, hitting him again and again with more shots. Fox felt amazed this Wolfen was still in the air. It looked like it'd gone through a crusher by now. But Fox knew his luck would run out soon.

The torrent of plasma balls stopped. Looking up, Fox saw the Queen detaching from the wall, beating her wings to go in a hover while facing him. She reared backwards, Fox noticing several pore-like structures on her underside. Dark powder began to ooze out of them. Fox gasped. _It's that stuff she sprayed at Panther!_ If that got on the Wolfen, it was going to eat through the metal and kill him, end of story. But what could he do? The Wolfen was too crippled to do little else but hover now. Fox prepared himself for the acid, and—

A second set of plasma blasts lit up the Queen from below, causing her to recoil away and spray the walls instead with her powder.

"McCloud! Good work!" Leon called out over the radio. A second Wolfen rose into the air next to Fox. The vulpine spotted the chameleon in the cockpit, giving him a thumbs up. "You bought me enough time to get up here! Now let's fry her!"

Leon held down the trigger, his own cannons leaving pockmarks across her wings as she thrashed around in the small space. Fox joined in, the two of them pounding her with energy blasts. In fact, the plasma bolts started punching straight through the wings, leaving holes behind. The Queen cried out again, struggling to stay in the air now. One wing beat slower than the other, unable to generate lift with its pockmarked flesh.

"Won't be long before she's on the ground…" Leon said over the firing. "When that happens, let's skip the torment and just cook her!"

Fox never thought he'd find himself agreeing with Leon about anything, but… A sadistic smile crossed Fox's face. "I'm with you. Let's raze her into ash." The more the Queen suffered and struggled to keep herself afloat under the concentrated fire, the bigger Fox's twisted smile became. " **Die you bitch! Die! Die! Dieeeeeeee!** " He let out a crazy laugh.

"My my McCloud…" Leon said. "Has some of me rubbed off on you?"

"Maybe it has…" Fox kept grinning, never once letting go of the trigger.

"This feeling I'm having about you right now…" Leon went quiet for a moment. "I wonder if this is why everyone else is afraid when I'm around."

Fox didn't care. The Queen was literally getting torn to smoking bits by both his and Leon's cannons right before his eyes, holes appearing all over her wings like eyed cheese. Never in his life had Fox felt so _gleeful_ about seeing another living creature suffer. After ten years of imprisonment in her virtual hell, this felt like the happiest moment of his life.

"Warning… Plasma cannons overheating. Cease fire."

Fox ignored the computer, even as the guns glowed red hot from the continuous fire. She'd be grounded in just a few seconds more, Fox felt. But then the Queen made a sudden lurch straight for him. The vupline's eyes widened. He moved the stick, but the engine was so strained and burnt out he didn't move an inch. She crashed straight into Wolfen's forward nose, pushing the ship downwards and whipping Fox's head around. When he recovered, Fox saw the floor rising up to meet him.

"Eject! Eject! Eject!" the ship's computer barked at him, a bright red "EJECT" button flashing to Fox's left. Fox slammed it down. The canopy popped off above him, Fox feeling the wind whipping past his face. Then he got slammed down into the chair, rocketing straight out of the falling craft. The chair fell away, Fox feeling another jolt through his fragile frame as the parachute activated.

Just a second later, he heard a mighty crash below, like a sledgehammer striking metal. That was followed by another crash that sounded more meaty and squishy by comparison. Fox looked below, seeing the mangled mess that used to be the Wolfen he was flying, alongside the gooey, twitching carcass of the Aparoid Queen. _We did it…_ Fox sighed. Then the Wolfen exploded, the shockwave blasting Fox's chute backwards while the shrapnel cut holes in it. Fox flew rearwards along with the chute, the fabric getting tangled up as the blast thrashed him around in the air. With the chute snarled, Fox felt himself in freefall. Before he had time to blink, he slammed down hard to the floor. The first thing he felt was the wind being knocked out of him. Then he heard a cracking noise from his right leg, which he'd landed on top of when hitting the ground.

Fox cried out, feeling like someone just stuck that leg in a campfire. He kept screaming, able to do little else but wriggle about on the floor. The vulpine had no idea where Wolf and the others were right now, and he didn't care at the moment. With all the fires burning and the smoking debris around him, it felt like he'd fallen straight into hell. Fox laid there in agony for what felt like an eternity, his screams over time transforming into pathetic little whimpers. But slowly, surely, the pain began to stabilize somewhat, and Fox decided to glance around. But his vision felt blurred and doubled through the pain, keeping him from recognizing much of anything.

"W-wolf… Leon… Panther… Anyone…" He could hardly speak, his throat feeing coarse and dry from all of his screaming before. "Heee-eelp…"

No reply. What the hell was he going to do now? The pain… The pain… He couldn't move. He thought he was going to die right now, just lying on the floor like this. And then he heard a piece of debris shifting, the squealing sound of metal on metal nearby. Fox rolled over, looking to see what it was. And then he wished he hadn't. Through the smoke and the fire he could see a massive silhouette coming his way, twin antennae and huge wings weakly whipping around above it. The Queen. She still lived.

Fox rolled over on his back, crawling away in the opposite direction. But with his crushed leg and atrophied muscles, it felt like trying to swim through quicksand. He could hear crushing sounds behind him, as the Queen pushed aside the rubble to pursue him. Soon she got close enough that he could hear the mandibles in her mouth clicking together. He spared a glance back…seeing the Queen's huge mouth opening and closing a mere four meters away from his feet. The vulpine pulled himself across the floor with all his might, not wanting to think about what would happen once the Queen caught up with him. But no matter how hard he heaved himself forward, the Queen moved forward with big lurches, closing the gap. He could feel the hot breath of that insect mouth on his feet, the mandible clicking feeling like the sound of his death. Fox shut his eyes, preparing for the bite…

A green plasma blast flashed right past Fox, striking the Queen in her blood red eye. She hissed and shrieked, throwing her head all about. More plasma blasts followed, tearing into the Queen's insect face. Fox looked back, seeing the creature's face disintegrate into ash as shot after shot after shot tore chunks out of it. With one final scream, the Queen threw her head back, then it slammed into the floor with a sickening smack, green ooze leaking out from underneath it. Fox looked and waited, but the body lay still where it was. Several more rifle shots flew out of the smoke, striking the Queen's face again. It jerked and convulsed, but Fox could see it was only from the recoil of the shots. Finally the shooting ceased, the fresh corpse of the Aparoid Queen lying still.

Fox weakly turned his head over to see who'd saved him. But with the poor lighting, the smoke, and his doubled vision, all he could make out was a silhouette holding one of Star Wolf's plasma rifles. Even so, the figure looked too short and slim to be Wolf, Panther, or Leon. And he could see a long fluffy tail behind the figure. Whoever they were, the plasma rifle slipped through their hands, clattering to the floor as the figure moved closer, limping rather than walking.

Fox's vision felt underwater-like at this point in his exhausted state. Even so, the person kneeled down next to him, gently rolling him over on his back while being careful not to agitate his leg. Now lying on the floor facing straight up, Fox could see who it was, even with his fading vision. Glowing sapphire eyes. Blue fur, with soft white fur covering her face, muzzle, and chest. A jeweled headband. _Krystal…?_ Like Fox himself, she was completely naked, her chest uncovered. As she cradled his head in her arm, he realized her fur was slick with the same liquid he'd been covered with when he woke up in that tank.

"Krystal… Is…?"

"Shh…" Krystal put a finger to his lips. "It's okay Fox. Just rest. You've done enough."

Her voice felt so soft and melodic to his ears. Fox wondered if he might be dying, his mind creating a pleasant dream to ease his suffering before he moved onto the next life.

"Just sleep for now." She stroked the top of his head. "I'll go get help."

"No…" Fox tried raising a hand to touch her face, but his arm felt like lead. "I want to… I want to stay with you…" After that last time in the simulation, the last thing he wanted was to be apart from her again, even if it was only due to sleep.

"Don't worry Fox. From now on, I'll be with you forever. But for now, just sleep. I promise I'll be here when you wake up."

She stroked him across the back of his head, the motion soothing and relaxing. As much as Fox tried to stay awake, his eyes felt so heavy, the pain so hard to bear. Krystal's smiling face faded from his vision, his world turning black as his eyelids settled closed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Fox leaned back into the captain's chair of the _Great Fox II_ , his feet resting on a console in front of him. The old chair felt nice and comfortable, although he couldn't recall how he got here. Maybe he'd dozed off or something but— _wait_. He leaped out of the chair, eyes darting around the bridge, his small, rapid breaths the only sound. He was back here. Again.

"No…" Fox shook his head. "No no no nooooooo!"

He shut his eyes, not wanting to see it anymore. He hated this ship. Hated the name _Great Fox II_. It reminded him of when he used to have the first _Great Fox_. He wanted _that_ ship back. His father's old ship, like the way it was supposed to be. Having this new one called the _Great Fox II_ felt like a mockery. It was nothing but a crate compared to the original, and knowing it was all fake made it even worse. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see this place again. It wasn't his ship. It was his prison, inescapable even by death.

With reluctance, he opened his eyes again. Nothing to see but the sterile bridge again. He seethed, narrowing his eyes as he stared around the room. Maybe he could smash the bridge again, like he did the last time. But what would it accomplish? Fox glanced at the console in front of him. The last time he was here, he'd smashed it into a million pieces, and yet it was back again like nothing ever happened. And that was true, now that he'd started a new loop. Life number ten thousand, four hundred and sixty three now.

"It's so pointless." He slumped back into the captain's chair, feeling alone, pathetic, and powerless despite having a warship at his command. None of its power mattered. Not in here. "What's the point? What's the freaking point?"

R.O.B., plugged into his recharging slot at the front of the bridge, rotated around to face him. "We have entered into orbit around Corneria. Awaiting your instructions."

"Leave me alone…" Fox clutched his arms round his chest, tail curling over his lap.

"But my sensors are picking up multiple enemy contacts. The Aparoid forces have total control of Corneria."

Fox picked up R.O.B.'s remote, not even bothering to glance at the robot. _Wait._ Something sounded wrong about the last thing R.O.B. said. What was it? "Aparoid," Fox whispered. R.O.B. was supposed to say 'Anglar'. The words sounded alike so Fox hadn't noticed at first. Why the change?

A tingling feeling ran down the back of Fox's neck as he glanced towards the front viewing port. Did he want to look? All of a sudden, he didn't want to get up now. But then again, not looking wouldn't make whatever it was go away. Steeling himself, he slipped out of the chair, walking one step at a time to the window. Staring down, his eyes went wide.

This wasn't Corneria. It was the Aparoid home world.

A deep shade of violet covered the planet, glistening in the light of Lylat like a large purple gem. Glowing lines of green pulsed across the land, forming large hexagons wherever they went. Large spires, distinguishable even from here, rose from the surface like giant spikes, entire cities of them spreading out over the planet. It looked beautiful from this far away, but Fox knew there had to be tens of billions of Aparoids down there, moving through the cities like ants through a colony. He could feel all of them, their minds as one, looking right at him.

And even beyond that, something else about this felt wrong. The planet looked different from before, yet something about it radiated an eerie familiarity. Large areas of darkness bordered some of the cities. Fox traced a finger along the edges of the dark zones. Water?

"The oceans… _Corneria's_ oceans." This _was_ Corneria.

He remembered what Panther said before. Why did the program change?

"Enemy contacts approaching the _Great Fox II_." R.O.B. pointed a robotic finger towards the planet.

Looking where R.O.B. pointed, Fox spotted several red lights coming from the surface. Black dots spread out from the lights, looking like dark powder at this distance. "Do we have any missiles in reserve?"

"Negative."

"Damn, thought so." The _Great Fox II's_ only weapon was a missile launcher with a capacity of three, and it never started the simulation with any missiles in stock. "We need to get out of here."

"Affirmative. Collect your headset. I will transfer myself into it and guide you."

Fox put on the gray headset he'd left next to the captain's chair, booting it up and slipping down the green eyepiece. Several loud thumps sounded on the front viewport. He turned to see several cockroach-like Aparoids landing there, obscuring the view. Each one emitted a red laser from its mouth, cutting into the glass. Soon the creatures covered the entire window, cracks forming all over the glass.

"We must hurry Fox." R.O.B.'s voice came through the headset's speakers, sounding as deadpan as ever.

"No shit."

Fox flew through the bridge's rear doors, stopping to type in a command in a nearby keypad. The doors slammed shut, sealing off the bridge behind them. That would keep away the roaches…for now. Fox sprinted down the silver metallic hallway, running for the nearest stairwell to the hangar deck.

"Intruders detected aboard the ship."

Screeching to a halt, Fox hid behind a nearby stray pipe, flattening himself against the wall. "Where?"

A diagram appeared on his eyepiece's HUD, showing the _Great Fox II's_ current deck. Red dots swarmed throughout the ship, most of them closing in on his position. In fact, going by the dots, some of the hostiles should have been in this hallway. Fox peeked out from behind the pipe. Where the hell were they?

Something slammed into the back of Fox's head, sending him tumbling to the floor. An air vent cover clattered to the ground next to him. Shaking the stars out of his eyes, he saw an Aparoid with long claws and bright red eyes crawling out of the open air vent. Soon the creature rose up to its full height, towering over him in a praying mantis like form, claws snapping together at the ends of its limbs. He raised his blaster to fire, but the creature knocked it out of his hands. On its chest, a spiked-ball like protrusion puffed up, the spines becoming prominent. Fox didn't know what that was, but it looked very bad. Thinking fast, he grabbed the vent cover, holding it up like a shield.

The needles in the ball sprayed out in an arc, striking the vent cover. Fox tossed the cover at the creature, sending it off balance while he dived for the blaster. Spinning around on the floor, he popped off several shots. It shrieked, spraying the hallway with green blood as the shots hit home. Fox fired off one last laser bolt, striking it right between its glowing red eyes. The creature collapsed to the floor with a loud thump.

Leaping to his feet, Fox glanced at the monster. Green glowing blood oozed across the floor, the thing still twitching. He prepared to deliver a coup de grace, but noticed something strange about the vent cover on the nearby floor. Wherever the needles struck, the metal around it was transforming. It started changing to purple, green lines forming hexagons glowing across the violet. That could have been him just now. Fox shivered, not wanting to think about what those needles could have done to him.

Screeches echoed down the corridor in front of him, the lights all switching off with a loud thunk. He found himself plunged into darkness, as tapping noises approached. Fox switched on the blaster's attached flashlight, waving it towards the cries. A swarm of red eyes reflected the beam's light, the creatures crawling on the floor, the wall, and the ceiling. He fired away, hearing yowls and chittering as the shots struck home, extinguishing the glowing eyes. However, more eyes appeared to replace the fallen. Fox's ears twisted backwards, picking up noise behind him. Turning around, his flashlight beam revealed a whole swarm of more creatures no more than a meter away. They resembled purple ants, although grown to a size over a meter in length.

Fox worked efficiently, snapping the sights and popping off one shot to the dome for each one. He was running on pure instinct at this point, far too high on adrenaline to even have time to be afraid. The beasts fell to the ground, neat little holes between their eyes. Even so, he could feel more of the creatures coming from the other direction. Spinning around, he pulled the trigger one more time. _Click_. Empty. One of the ants stood on its hind legs and ran forward, its spindly forelegs spread wide. Fox gave it a long straight kick, staggering it backwards. Fox slammed the battery home, firing wildly into the creature's chest. Green oozing holes popped open, the monster falling back onto the floor with a splat sound. No time to rest though. Fox spun around, seeing three of those things about to jump on top of him.

Out of options, Fox dived into the nearby open air vent. The passage barely accommodated him walking in a crouched position, the walls pressing on his shoulders. He shuddered to think about one of those things catching him in here, or one of them cutting him off from the front. Speaking of, the things squealed as they climbed into the vent after him. Fox turned around as best as he could in the cramped space, shutting his eyes as he fired the blaster over his shoulder. Each shot sounded like a thunder clap right in his ear drums, Fox gritting his teeth and twisting his ears back as far as they'd go. Fortunately for him, the first corpse he made plugged the vent behind him, making it harder for the other ants to get past. They chittered in frustration as more of their friends' bodies piled up, blocking the passageway.

_Click. Click. Click_. Out again. He didn't even notice at first, his ear drums still pounding from the last few shots. The pockets in his jacket turned up empty when he searched for another power cell. Growling, he hurried along in a crouch walk, awkwardly holding the blaster out front to use the flashlight.

"R.O.B., how close are we to the armory?" To Fox's ears, it sounded like he was talking through a wall.

"Make a right turn." Fox strained, needing to concentrate hard through the temporary deafness to hear the AI. "Follow the air vent for thirty more meters, then descend into the corridor below. You will drop down right next to the armory."

"You're a lifesaver."

Reaching the vent cover, Fox kicked it open, dropping into the passageway. The vulpine waved his blaster around, but everything seemed quiet…for the moment. Then again that might be just the ringing in his ears. At least it was starting to fade. A sturdy door to his left declared 'ARMORY' in bold red letters. He punched '4309' into the keypad, the heavy door sliding aside. The vulpine dived inside, slamming the button to shut the door behind him.

Weapons of various types lined the racks on the walls, from compact automatic blasters to full size sniper rifles. Fox wished he could get a giant backpack and toss everything into it, but he wouldn't even be able to carry something like that, let alone escape with it. Scanning the firearms, he swapped out his empty blaster pistol for an automatic version, and selected a laser carbine for a primary weapon. While relatively powerful, the carbine's smaller size meant it would still be small enough to stow inside his Arwing's cockpit.

"Fox," R.O.B. said as the vulpine laid out spare power cells on a table. "The Aparoids are infecting the _Great Fox II's_ systems. I've lost access to the onboard surveillance system. We must escape before the ship is assimilated."

A creeping feeling came up the back of his neck at the mention of that. His own ship might end up getting turned against him. Like he didn't have enough problems already.

"Is the hangar bay all right?" Fox pulled a tactical vest off the wall, setting it next to the ammunition. "Can we still get out in the Arwing?"

"Unknown."

Fox grimaced, feeling like a noose was closing around his neck. "Okay… Arm the _Great Fox II's_ self-destruct, but hold off on the detonation until I order it."

"Understood. Working now."

Slipping on the vest, Fox filled the pockets and slots with spare ammunition and grenades. The flight jacket went right back on over the vest. Ready as he ever was, he punched the door's exit button, waving the rifle back and forth as the portal whooshed open. Nothing greeted him on the other side, although Fox detected a new scent. It had a very chemical element to it, like burning plastic. Slightly nauseating to his sensitive vulpine nose.

Then Fox's sights froze on something on the wall. A set of purple hexagons with glowing green centers hung there, like how barnacles grew on underwater pier pilings. The smell came from that. Purple lines like tentacles extended out from the center, encroaching on the rest of the wall. More of the hexagon shapes sprouted wherever the tentacles grew, the abomination increasing in size right before his eyes. It wasn't there when he'd gone inside the armory a few minutes ago. No doubt more of them would be all over the ship now, growing just as fast.

That got Fox moving. He pumped his arms and legs as fast as he could, flying down the corridors with his tail whipping behind him. More of the barnacle-like growths covered the silver walls and floors as he ran past them. The chemical smell increased in volume the further and further he went. Turning into the final corridor before the hangar, Fox's jaw dropped. The glowing hexagons covered almost every surface, including the lights. The green hexagons pulsed in the dark, providing the only light in some areas. On the door at the far end, the words 'HANGAR 1' could be seen, only about ten meters away.

"Can these things infect me R.O.B.?"

"Unknown. Would suggest avoiding physical contact."

"Yeah, that's really helpful…" He rolled his eyes.

Fox stood there, weighing his options. While the infestation covered much of the floor, he could see a thin pathway through most of it. Although if he slipped and fell, that'd be the end of it. There was no time to find an alternate route. Fox rolled down the sleeves on his flight jacket, popped his jacket collar so it covered more of his neck, flattened his baggy green pants down his legs, and stretched his flight gloves nice and tight over his hands, covering as much of his skin as possible.

"Here goes..."

Fox took his first step into the muck, keeping his eyes fixed on wherever the original silver floor poked through. It was kind of like walking on stones across a stream. The purple tendrils reached out for him from every surface, like living jungle vines trying to wrap themselves around him. He needed to duck at points to get underneath ones reaching down from the ceiling, even feeling one of them brush his collar for a moment. Meanwhile, the small ones on the floor clung to his boots and held him down, Fox shaking his feet again and again to make them let go.

None touched his exposed flesh, but he didn't know if the Aparoid infection could also jump over to clothing. The smell overwhelmed him, Fox wrinkling his nostrils as he moved. Was he inhaling the stuff these barnacles were made of? Could he get infected that way? Well, either way, Fox wasn't the lay down and die type. He'd resist until the end.

At last he cleared the infestation, now standing in front of the hangar entrance. Pressing an ear to the doors, the tapping sounds of large insect feet could be heard on the other side. Sounded like a lot of them. Fox guessed he'd been right about them coming here to cut off his escape. He took a deep breath, checking the charges on his pistol and carbine. Sure, he hadn't fired them yet, but thought it a good idea to check anyway. Both showed as full. Readying a grenade in his hand, he ripped the door open.

A whole crowd of Aparoids filled the echoing hangar bay. His Arwing, his escape and salvation, sat waiting on the floor directly behind them. Ripping the pin off the grenade, he tossed it into the horde. Not even waiting for the first one to go off, Fox tossed a second one. Over the chittering, he could hear the metal grenades clinking off the floor. Fox shut his eyes, looking away. Twin explosions rippled through the crowd, scattering green goo and shards of exoskeleton across the massive floor space. He didn't even wait after that, raising his carbine, giving a small tap of the trigger to each Aparoid still standing. After several seconds, not one of them remained standing.

With the way clear, Fox looked upon his Arwing. Its white and blue paint scheme still gleamed under the remaining lights, untouched in spite of the Aparoid hexagons spreading across the walls. This smelled like a trap, but— Heavy pounding sounded at another set of doors on the opposite wall, more of that shrieking and scampering on the other side. Decision made, he charged for the Arwing, skipping rungs as he bounded up the fighter's ladder. It wasn't a moment too soon, as the other set of doors smashed open, multiple Aparoids streaming inside and firing off red lasers as they went. He lowered the canopy for protection, the red lasers too low powered to defeat the Arwing's armor. Turning the ship to the open bay doors, he ignited the engines, blowing away the Aparoids behind him with the jet thrust. And just like that, he rocketed out of the _Great Fox II_.

Fox spared a glance at his mothership, witnessing the tumor-like barnacle growths covering the right side of it, Aparoids swarming all over the exterior like flies picking over a decaying corpse. This felt familiar. He'd lost the original _Great Fox_ in about the same way. But it felt familiar in other ways too. Over the many, many lives he'd lived in this simulation, he'd failed to protect the _Great Fox II_ countless times, enemies shooting it down and dooming his fake war against the Anglars to failure. After a while he quit caring about losing the _Great Fox II_ since he'd always get it back in the next loop anyway. But this time it felt different. Like this time the _Great Fox II_ was going to be gone for good. And in spite of how much he scorned this ship, Fox felt a twinge of sadness over what he was about to do next.

"R.O.B., blow the ship."

"Roger Fox."

The _Great Fox II's_ reactors detonated, ripping through the bridge and aft sections. More explosions tore between the two hangar bays, splitting the structure in half. The pieces spun off from each other, one half tumbling towards Corneria and the other spinning off into space.

They'd made it out but…so what? What would he do now? This fighter didn't have enough range to make it to another planet. He'd be adrift in space before he could make it anywhere, but— _Meteo. The warp portals in Meteo._ In the Lylat Wars, he remembered Meteo not being too far away from Corneria, and the natural phenomena of the warp portals could take you to Katina if he recalled correctly. And if what Panther said about the state of Lylat was true, what was left of the Cornerian government would be there. He could join up with them, and strike back against the Aparoids with a bigger force. Glancing at his fuel, he saw he would have just enough to make it.

Smiling, Fox spun his ship around. He engaged the thrusters and- They weren't responding. Frowning, he looked at the control panel. Everything seemed normal but…

"Fox," R.O.B. said. "This Arwing is infected. I'm detecting system failure."

Even as R.O.B. said this, the familiar purple growth appeared on the fighter's nose, spreading out from an initial point as glowing green lines pulsed across the purple material, forming hexagons. The systems on his Arwing shut down as the infection took hold, the corruption creeping closer and closer to the cockpit. His Arwing was doomed, and he knew it. He'd fallen right into the trap. No choice but to eject.

Fox looked at the assimilated Corneria far below. That's where he would be headed next once he bailed out. Like jumping from the frying pan straight into the fire. Even so, if he was doomed, he wanted to go down fighting as himself. He slammed home the eject button. The enclosed cockpit blasted off from the Arwing's frame. Thrusters on the sides of the cockpit changed its orientation to the optimal angle for re-entry, as he descended to the planet. Heat blasted past the windows, Fox holding on for dear life. Felt like being inside a falling meteor more than anything. Upon entering the atmosphere, a violent jolt shook through his seat, the cockpit's parachute deploying.

Corneria City spread out below him…or what was left of it. He wanted to believe this was the Aparoid home world, he really did, but the longer he looked at the hellish purple landscape, the more he recognized various buildings. General Pepper's command tower loomed large over the purple metropolis, consumed and turned into what looked like a nerve center for Aparoid operations. An ominous green orb glowed on top of it, looking like some type of eye. As he descended, the eye rotated to track him. A large group of beetle like Aparoids gathered on the ground below, their antennae and claws turned upwards, as if he were a morsel of food about to be plopped right into their waiting maws.

The cockpit slammed into the ground, the canopy windows promptly being filled with the snapping jaws of Aparoids galore clamoring to break inside, the glass splintering and cracking as they banged on it. Fox raised his carbine, pointing it at the window that looked like it would shatter first. When the first claw punctured through the glass, he let out a long burst of fire, slaughtering over a dozen Aparoids with a single magazine. Not because of good aim, but because of how tightly they were packed in.

With the glass shot out now, Fox scrambled past the reeling Aparoids, climbing on top of a nearby abandoned truck. The bugs clambered after him, snapping teeth and claws at his feet. Fox leaped through a window into a nearby building. Landing inside, he found himself inside another room with more walls of purple hexagons and pulsating green lines of code. The layout suggested it used to be an apartment building, although long since converted to suit the new residents. Fox rushed out into the hallway, Aparoids swarming into the window after him. More piled in from either end of the new corridor. He rushed for the nearest stairwell, charging upwards as fast as he could. What was he going to do once he got to the top though? He had no idea and no time to think about that anyway.

At the end of the stairs Fox burst out onto roof, hearing the whole chittering swarm of Aparoids right on his heels. Could he leap to the next building? Hurrying to the edge, Fox realized that wouldn't be possible. A smooth surface covered the side of the adjacent structure, with nothing to grab onto. He'd bounce right off and fall to his death if he leaped for it.

The bugs surrounded him, pushing him towards the edge. They seemed to savor the moment, now taking their sweet time to corner their prey. One rushed at him, swinging its claws as it came. Fox shot it dead, but that gave another one time to get right beside him and knock him to the ground. A stinger extended from the underside of the creature. The Aparoid thrust its stinger downwards, almost getting Fox in the legs. It stabbed again and again and again, Fox only just managing to squirm out of the way each time. He was running on complete auto-pilot now, knowing that one sting would mean he was a goner.

After one more missed sting, Fox kicked out one of the creature's legs from under it, stunning it for just a second. It was all he needed. He drew the automatic blaster and hosed down the creature's belly, spilling green bug juice all over himself. The thing collapsed on top of him, pinning him down.

He tried to squirm out from under the fresh corpse, but then something stuck him in the arm. He screamed, feeling what felt like a long knife blade sticking deep down into his shoulder. Worse, he could feel that Aparoid poison leaking out from the stinger, filling his body with it. A new Aparoid stood over him, jaws stretched wide and clicking open and closed as if smiling at him. Fox blasted it in the face, but the damage was already done.

As Fox dragged himself into a stand, the Aparoids surrounding him chittered and waved their claws around, seeming to celebrate. He rolled up his sleeve to look at where he'd been stung. Already the orange fur started changing to purple, glowing green lines pulsing underneath his skin. He'd soon be one more of the monsters around him. Well, Fox McCloud wasn't about to let that happen!

Fox turned the blaster on himself…and then he couldn't pull the trigger. His arm didn't belong to him anymore. Turning to jump off the roof, he found it was the same with his legs. Fox's heart pounded, willing his body to move even as it no longer listened to him. He could not even make himself blink anymore as the Aparoid corruption swept over his flesh, painfully transforming him into the very thing he'd tried so hard to destroy. His muzzle changed right before his eyes, his consciousness fading as the Aparoid infection replaced it.

A strange Aparoid stepped up, looking at him right in the face. He couldn't make out any details, aside from the creatures eyes. They glowed blue, seeming to stare right through him. Even as everything faded to black, the blue lights lingered for a few seconds more, the last thing Fox saw before the darkness became complete. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The darkness remained, Fox having no sense of where he was. But he could feel a sheet wrapped around him, holding him down. He thrashed about trying to get it off, but his limbs felt as though they were mired in mud. Opening his eyes, he saw a silhouette right over him, dark shadows cast by bright lights. Glowing blue eyes stared back at him from the stranger's face.

He screamed, scrambling away from the creature. He flailed about with the sheet, managing to get it off. But then he found himself in freefall, slamming hard into the floor. The surface felt as cold and hard as ice. Fox pushed off the floor, but found himself so weak he flopped back to the ground like a fish out of water. A gray blur covered his vision, the lights overhead almost blinding as he flailed about. Muffled voices reached his ears, although no words could be made out.

A strong pair of hands wrapped around his shoulders, flipping him onto his back. Another silhouette hovered over him. Fox kicked and wriggled under the thing's grasp, but those hands may as well have been iron cuffs. The thing shouted at him, the words unintelligible.

"…F—! Fox! Fox!"

Was that his name? The voice sounded familiar.

"Hey, it's me!" Fox quit squirming, taking a closer look at his attacker. A gray canine's face came into focus, sunglasses covering the eyes. "Bill Grey! Don't you recognize me?"

Fox blinked. Bill Grey. Gray fur, like his name. Not brown. Not like the Bill in the simulator. Why? Where was he now? What did this mean? He shivered, the floor freezing to the touch of his skin. Bill raised Fox into a sitting position. As his vision came into focus, Fox noticed the dog wearing a dark green officer's uniform, along with a matching military cap covering his floppy ears.

"Bill?" Fox breathed hard, feeling tired even from that brief exertion.

Bill grinned at him. "Fox, it's great to have you back again."

"Back?"

"Yeah, you're on board HS _Mercy_. It's one of the CDF's hospital ships. You've been out for a couple days now."

Fox stared around the room, blinking several times to clear the blurriness from his sight. Sterile gray walls greeted his vision, miscellaneous pieces of medical equipment scattered around the room in addition to his bed. To his right, a curtain hid that part of the room. Meanwhile, a window dominated the far wall, letting him see over the sea of stars scattered out across deep space. The nightstand and a nearby table overflowed with cards, presents, and treats, along with red balloons tied to the footboard.

"We're heading back to Lylat now." Bill beamed. "You'll be home before you know it."

The words fell on deaf ears. How did he get here? Where was he before? Was he in or out of the simulator? And why did he feel weak again? It took effort just to stay sitting up. This was like when he woke up in that tank. An aqua-green patient gown covered his body, along with a cast on his right leg. He glanced at his arm, noticing several places where his orange fur was shaved away, showing bare skin and bandages. Rubbing one of the dressings, he didn't feel the metal implants that used to be there. Wait, implants? Like the ones he had back on the Aparoid home world? The ones with the wires running into them?

"Hey Fox." Bill moved his head back into view. "Are you okay?"

What could he say? What defined 'okay' at this point? The vulpine looked around the room again. "I-I don't know." He rubbed one of the bandaged spots with his index finger, as though picking at a scab.

"Are you hurt? Do you want to get back in your bed?" That wasn't Bill. The voice sounded female. "You must be freezing there."

Someone walked around the bed, her eyes glowing bright blue. Fox tensed up, backpedaling away until he slammed into the night stand next to his bed. A few 'get well soon' cards tumbled to the floor next to him.

"Whoa, Fox!" Bill laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Hey, relax. It's your nurse."

Fox looked again, taking in more details. Indeed, she wore blue nurse scrubs with short sleeves. The blue 'eyes' turned out to be a strange pair of goggles with blue lenses, covering the top half of her face. Brown triangular ears poked out above the contraption, a small and flat muzzle below with a brick red nose. Brown stripes ran across her cream-colored fur, suggesting a feline species like a cat. Long cream hair ran down her back, tied into a ponytail. She'd folded her hands together, letting him get a good look at her arm fur. It looked so soft and plush. A long fluffy tail swished back and forth behind her, almost reminding him of his own vulpine tail.

She seemed embarrassed as she smiled at him, approaching closer. "I'm sorry about before. Bad dream?" She laid a hand on his other shoulder. The goggles still freaked him out a bit, although he found himself warming up to them. She almost made the circular lenses cute. "Come on, let's get you back into bed. Help me, Mr. Grey?"

Bill grinned. "Upsy-daisy!"

The two of them lifted him back into bed.

"My name is Rachel. If you need anything, I'll be here." She smiled as she straightened out the ruffled sheets, covering Fox with them again. Their warmth felt heavenly after sitting on that tiled floor. "Mr. McCloud, sir… It's an honor to be taking care of you. Everybody's going to be so happy now that you're awake! Here, let's help you sit up." She reached past him, the feel of her fur soft and soothing.

After she got him and his pillows in place, he glanced at the two guests in his room. Bill stood there in his officer's uniform, not knowing what to say now. That uniform… Fox had forgotten about it for a minute. It looked so strange on his old friend.

"Bill, you're an officer now?"

The dog tilted his head a bit, confused by the remark. But after a second he grinned, glancing down at his forest-green attire.

"Oh, this? Yup, I sure am." Bill took off his cap, playing with it in his hands. "It has been a long time, hasn't it? I'm not flying a fighter anymore. Now I'm commanding multiple squadrons from afar."

Bill, his old buddy from the academy, now an officer? Bill, who took him out surfing and used the whole string of lingo, even words like 'bodacious' and 'dudular'? Now the surfer dude accent had aged up, refined into something more measured and focused, no doubt after years of commanding. Granted, if what Wolf said was true, it had been ten years and a lot could happen in that time, but… Fox wasn't sure what to think anymore, not with that nightmare or whatever it was before.

"My skills and knowledge got too valuable to be risked on the front lines." Bill put his cap back on, glancing towards the window. "Sometimes, I miss getting to be out there though…" The dog paused to glance at one of the red balloons tied to Fox's footboard, looking amused by them. He reached out to hold one of them, Fox now noticing 'WELCOME BACK STAR FOX!' written on it in black marker. "I gotta say… There's a memorial for Star Fox over on Katina now, right in the middle of our base. I guess it can't stay a memorial anymore now, huh?" He smirked at his old friend. "We'll have to change the plaque once we get back."

A memorial? To him and the rest of Star Fox? Fox chuckled. Maybe this was some dying dream, or he was already in the afterlife. Bill smiled back, probably thinking he was just laughing at the joke.

Someone knocked on the room's door, Fox snapping his head towards it. Rachel checked the peephole for a moment, before pushing a button to let the door whoosh aside. Wolf O'Donnell stepped into the room, moving with a slight limp. The battle armor from before was gone, now replaced with simple black fatigues. Spotting him, Wolf cast Fox a lopsided grin, moving aside one of the red balloons to get a better look at him.

"Hey kiddo… You doing all right?"

"I guess…"

Everyone kept asking him how he was doing. Of course, they were worried, especially after what they told him he'd been through. Unless they were only constructs of the simulation… Fox shut his eyes. Dammit, how could he trust anything he saw anymore? Every time they asked if he was okay, it reminded him of his own fear. The fear of none of this being real. Was this air he was breathing right now? Opening his eyes again, he saw the other three all staring back at him, not knowing what to make of his silence.

"How's the leg, Fox?" Wolf asked. The vulpine found the question almost funny. At any other time, he would be terrified of meeting the lupine while confined to a hospital bed. Yet his old rival was the concerned one here. "I didn't see it, but I heard you took a nasty fall when you ejected out of Panther's Wolfen."

Fox rolled aside his bed sheet, showing the cast. "I guess I'll be fine, but…" _Hold on a minute_. Narrowing his eyes, he asked "The Aparoid Queen's dead, isn't she?"

Wolf chuckled. "Oh yeah, you got her all right." He shook his head. "Never seen that before. Dogfighting while naked. Panther told me all he gave you was a blanket."

Bill covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. "Sorry Fox, but is that true?"

So what he remembered about killing the Queen did happen. Or at least it had continuity with this reality. Continuities? Realities? Fox rubbed the side of his head, sending his cheek fur askew. Needing to consider multiple timelines and universes made his brain hurt. Was it going to be like this for the rest of his life now? Or lives?

"Hey Fox, you okay?" Bill walked around to the side of the bed, leaning in closer.

"Yeah, fine…" Fox rubbed his face, leaning back into the pillows.

"You don't sound fine."

He glared at Bill. "I am, all right?"

"Okay, okay. Sorry man." Bill stepped back, raising up his hands.

An awkward silence settled over the room, the mood at odds with the festive balloons and presents piled up next to Fox.

Rachel broke the silence first, resting her hands on the footboard. "Um, do you want to be left alone for a bit?" her tail fluttered back and forth behind her in an unsure way. "Maybe you need some time to process all this."

Yes, that sounded perfect. He opened his mouth and—a roach ran past his bed, slipping underneath the nearby curtain. Fox sucked in a breath, watching it run out of sight. Nobody else seemed to have noticed it. He glanced at the window. The stars twinkled outside, nothing else in view. Seeing that bug made his skin crawl, reminding him of those Aparoid roaches that covered the outside of the _Great Fox II_.

"Fox?" Bill asked.

"No!" Fox's breathing came back in small, rapid gasps. "Please, I don't want to be alone!" He stared at each of his guests in turn, eyes wide.

Bill, Rachel, and Wolf exchanged glances with each other, looking at Fox like they were afraid he'd lash out at them.

"Okay…?" Bill raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I can stay if you like, Fox." The dog pulled a plastic chair out of the corner, sitting down in it. "Was there anything you wanted to talk about? Help get you back up to speed? Bet you've got a lot of questions."

Questions… They could be talking for weeks and Fox wouldn't run out of them. "Where do I start? Ten years out here, but all together in the sim it was tens of thousands of years for me." He squeezed the bedsheet in his hand.

"Is that true?" Bill's eyes widened. "Wolf told me you said that."

Fox nodded. He considered mentioning Bill's fake brown clone in the sim (and all the other fakes for that matter), but thought it might be best to wait for a proper debriefing to reveal that. It'd be a little bit much to lay on the others right now.

"Why would the Queen keep you in a sim for all this time?"

"Maybe it was to study us." Fox shrugged. "Star Fox, I mean. Figure out how we got so close to defeating her so she wouldn't screw up again."

"If that was her plan, it worked. It took us all this time to make it back here, and it felt like she was twice as hard to fight after you got captured. We've lost so much… With Corneria taken over, we've had to relocate to Katina. We may have won the war, but I bet it's going to be decades before Corneria's habitable again. That place looks like—"

"The Aparoid homeworld, I know." Fox grimaced, remembering his little trip there not too long ago. After that nightmare, it was the last thing he wanted to talk about right now. He changed the subject. "In the sim, we were fighting these fish creatures called Anglars."

"Fish creatures?" Wolf laughed, leaning against a nearby wall. "They don't sound so tough."

"Wolf." Rachel frowned, ears curling back as she gave him a soft tap on the chest with the back of her hand. "Don't tease him."

Fox turned over to notice Wolf and Rachel standing awful close together, one of the lupine's giant hands on her shoulder, almost covering it. Something about how they acted got his attention, especially with the way Rachel called him by name and gave him that little tap.

"Do you two know each other?"

The lupine smirked, looking at the much smaller cat.

"Guess I should explain, Fox. Rachel here… " He put his other hand on her other shoulder. "You could say I'm something of a godparent for her."

Godparent? Was he hearing that right?

"Wolf's done a lot to support me for so many years." Rachel smiled, giving the lupine a little peck on the cheek.

Fox held his mouth slightly ajar, narrowing his eyes. "When did this happen? How did you two meet?"

Both of them seemed to get a thousand-yard stare. "Uh…" Rachel glanced at the floor, cupping her hands together. "It's hard to talk about that. Wolf… He uh…" She wanted to say something, but couldn't get it out.

Wolf cleared his throat. "This happened right after the Lylat Wars were over. You remember what I used to be like, right?"

How could he forget? Fox found it hard to believe the Wolf in front of him now was the same man he'd fought all those years ago. They were eighteen and twenty-seven then, kids compared to what they'd grown into now. And Fox remembered how much Wolf wanted to take him out. Fast and furious combat every time they met, him and Wolf chasing each other's tails, most of the fights a stalemate until Fox barely managed to get a lucky shot and bring him down.

"Yeah…" Fox said. "I remember plenty."

"Remember Venom? After you shot me down there, I was on the run. The one thing I remember most about that time was how angry I was. I lost to you after all. Twice. You have no idea how much I hated you back then. I felt like I was going to catch fire from sheer, all-consuming hatred. But then while I was fleeing the system, I stopped on Papetoon to steal supplies and I met Rachel there.

"Rachel was only ten, a kitten. Until that point, I couldn't get enough of all the fighting and killing I did under Andross. Sometimes I had so much fun I forgot I was being paid to do it. Rachel though, she had to be sent to Papetoon to be safe during the Lylat Wars. A lot of orphans were created during that war, and I've got no doubt I helped create a fair few of them myself. Seeing her, I realized what I'd become during my years working for that ape. And I knew it wasn't somebody I wanted to be anymore. If it wasn't for Rachel, I'd still be that greedy mercenary you remember."

"He took me home to my mom on Katina after that." Rachel held a little tighter to Wolf. "Even though it was dangerous for him, being a wanted criminal and all."

"That was my idea of repentance, you could say… And I've done everything I can to support Rachel since then. Helped get her through medical school. Helped pay for those goggles too. She can't see without them." Wolf pointed at his computerized eyepatch. "Not all that different from this, see?"

Fox took a second look. Sure enough, the design of her goggles resembled a double-eyed version of Wolf's eyepatch. He hadn't noticed until now. These two people, almost complete opposites, still had things in common with each other. How strange to realize something like that. Something still bothered Fox though. He thought he'd feel terrible about asking the next question, but felt like it had to be addressed.

"Rachel, weren't you scared of Wolf back then?"

"Mr. McCloud…" Rachel sniffled, although if she were crying tears the goggles hid them. "Whoever he was back then, Wolf still wanted to take me home, even though it was dangerous for him and he could have abandoned me any time he wanted. And he's done a lot to help Lylat since. We would have never made it back to the Aparoid home world without Star Wolf. And he saved my mom too by doing this. She has the Aparoid sickness. She's undergoing treatment right now, but with the Queen gone that might help. And I'm so, so happy about that."

Fox returned nothing but a blank stare. Wolf helping out children and Bill as an officer now. Add that to Panther settling down and having kids, Corneria becoming an Aparoid infestation, the relocation of its population and government to Katina… So much to take in. Assuming this wasn't some crazy alternate version of the simulation.

He figured he'd be ecstatic about this after repeating the Anglar War more than ten thousand times. But reiterating the same event time and again also brought a degree of familiarity, comfort, and control, since Fox knew exactly where all the pieces would fall every single time, with his decisions the only changing factor. But now he didn't have that control anymore. He could no longer predict events or people. Only the great unknown spread out before him. Strange as it was, now he found himself pining a little bit to wake up on the bridge of the _Great Fox II_ one more time.

Fox looked over at Bill, Rachel, and Wolf again. More than anything, he wanted somebody he could talk to about these things. But could he tell any of these three about it? Would they understand him? Would they call him crazy? Was any of this even real? If only there were someone here who'd been through what he'd been through.

Krystal.

Fox's eyes widened. Right before the simulation went off the rails, she realized it was all fake like he did. And she shot the Queen too, back on the Aparoid home world. And so far, this continuity seemed to match with all of that, so…

"Krystal!" Fox screamed, sitting bolt upright in his bed. "Where is she?! Is she on this ship?"

Bill's, Wolf's, and Rachel's ears all popped bolt upright at the same time, their tails jumping at Fox's surprise outburst. He glanced back and forth between the three of them. Someone made a murmuring on the other side of the curtain, the voice female.

Bill seemed annoyed, moving his officer's cap back in place. "You didn't have to yell like that Fox. She's right here." He gestured towards the curtain.

"What?!" Fox's ears popped straight up.

Rachel stepped over, drawing back the room's dividing curtain. On the other side, Krystal slept in the other bed, her blue fur beautiful and radiant as ever underneath the light of the stars. One would've thought she didn't have a care in the universe as she rested, chest rising up and down in a steady, slow rhythm beneath the blankets. Like with Fox, they'd shaved and bandaged the places where her implants had been, but it didn't diminish her beauty in the slightest—rather, it made her appear even lovelier, the consummate survivor.

"I'm sorry," Rachel smiled. "I forgot to tell you in all the commotion."

Fox's heart pounded as he turned to Krystal. "Is she all right?"

"She's doing fine." Rachel nodded. "The two of you were unconscious by the time the medics reached you. You're the first one to wake up."

"Can you wake her up for me?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, we've already tried. We tried waking you up earlier too, but you didn't come to until now."

Fox frowned, looking over at Krystal. More than anything in the world, he wanted to talk to her right now. Sort through everything they'd been through since getting out of the simulation. Something about what Rachel said didn't add up though…

"You said she was unconscious next to me? She had a laser rifle. She shot the Aparoid Queen before the Queen could eat me."

"She did?" Wolf tilted his head a little at that. "You must've been the only one who saw it Fox. After you crashed Panther's Wolfen, it was hard to see much of anything in that room we were fighting in."

Why would Krystal suddenly go unconscious? Fox saw her standing and moving around right before he went under again. It seemed like a small thing, but with reality itself in question right now he couldn't help but fixate on even the smallest details.

"Hey Fox…" Bill stepped over to him. "If you wanna talk to one of your teammates, we found Peppy, Slippy, and Falco. They're on board this ship too."

Fox snapped his head towards Bill. "You did? Why didn't you tell me?"

Bill glanced over at Rachel. "Well like Rachel said, you've been acting a bit weird and I forgot. Sorry about that."

Wolf stepped over to Fox's bed. "McCloud, want me to take you to your friends?" He pulled a wheelchair out of the corner of the room, unfolding it next to the bed. "Last I saw they were still in the day room. Rachel still needs to look after your girlfriend here." He added the last bit with a little grin, but Fox didn't notice.

His teammates… He hadn't seen them since the first chapter. What would they be like when he met them now? How would they deal with learning their reality had been a lie for the past ten years? They didn't figure it out like he and Krystal had. Fox didn't know what to expect, but felt like he needed to talk to them all the same. He had to know how they were doing. It was his job as leader of the team, no matter what reality this was.

Nodding at Wolf, Fox rotated his legs around, Rachel helping him slip into the wheelchair. Soon the lupine was wheeling him through the hospital's hallways, whistling a little tune as he did so. The vulpine felt all eyeballs on him as they went. Everyone seemed amazed to see him sitting there, most of them beaming him warm smiles and saying things like 'Welcome back, Fox!' or 'Great to see you, McCloud!'

He faked a smile here and there, but still felt on edge. What was he about to see here? Turning another corner, Wolf pushed him into a larger room containing several couches, a few tables for playing games, and some television sets. Magazine racks and book cases lined the walls. And off to the far side, he could see Slippy, Falco, and Peppy from behind, watching some movie on a TV set.

Fox hesitated.

"Aren't you gonna call out?" Wolf leaned in, putting the muzzle over his shoulder. "What's the matter? Scared?" Fox could see the lupine assuming a sarcastic grin.

"No…" Fox lied. Some things never changed, did they?

"Hey fellas!" Wolf boomed out, Fox gritting his teeth. "Foxy boy's back!"

Slippy turned around right away, his large eyes lighting up, giant frog mouth opening into a huge grin.

"Fox!" he cried out. The toad spun his wheelchair around with surprising speed, wheeling over so fast he looked like he was warping across the room. "So good to see you again!" he said, giving Fox a big ol' hug with his rubbery arms. "Oh Fox! You're okay! We're all finally out of that place!"

Slippy's grip felt cold and clammy compared to a mammal, but Fox had long since gotten used to the feeling. He returned the hug, grinning all the way. Why was he afraid of talking to these guys again? "Glad to see you too, Slippy."

His ears rotated, hearing the sounds of another wheelchair, albeit this one approaching slower. Fox's eyes widened at seeing Peppy. He'd been fifty years old when they got captured, so the time in the sim would make that sixty now. And he looked every year of it and then some, his brown fur long having faded into a dull gray. Staying in the tanks hadn't been kind to any of them, but it seemed to have hit the hare particularly hard. A plastic tube ran under his nose to an oxygen tank stuck to the side of the wheelchair, Peppy taking small wheezing breaths. Even so, the warmth of his smile came right through all of that, seeming to wipe some of the age right off.

"Hey there, Fox."

Fox smiled back, leaning over to give him a hug as well. "Hey Peppy."

The three of them looked at each other, nobody saying a word. Honestly, with what everyone had been through here, what could be said? And yet this felt right. Words weren't needed right now. Fox felt better only from being in their presence, and he suspected his teammates felt the same way.

Something felt off though. Fox realized Falco hadn't joined them. Turning over towards the TV, he saw the bird still sitting there.

"Is he okay?" Fox asked.

"Hard to say," Peppy replied. "We've been here a couple days now. They bring Falco into the day room with us, but he hasn't said a word to anyone. He only stares at the TV. I'm not sure if he even realizes where he is right now. Maybe you could try talking to him?"

Fox wondered if he was about to walk into something he was going to regret, but this was Falco after all. What kind of person would he be if he didn't help out his friends?

"Okay, I'll do it." Fox nodded to the others, rolling over to the bird.

Fox slid beside Falco, turning to look at the bird. Falco kept staring straight ahead like a statue. Fox glanced between him and the TV several times, feeling a little unsure about speaking. There was a little jingle about 'Sugar Frosted Chocolate Bombs' being advertised ( _not recommended for canine consumption_ ). Finally, taking a deep breath, Fox spoke.

"Falco, buddy? You doing all right? It's me, Fox." No response, not even a blink. He reached out and placed a hand on Falco's shoulder. "Hey, you there?"

At first Falco didn't seem to respond, but ever so slightly Falco rotated his head to Fox. The slow speed left Fox a bit unnerved. Falco's face appeared blank, as though he stared straight through Fox. "Why are you here?" The words carried a slight tinge of venom.

"What do you mean?"

"You shot me. You killed me. And you killed Lucy, too."

Fox's eyes widened. "No, that wasn't real. Lucy wasn't real." Even so, the words felt weak and hollow as he said them.

"And I wake up, and I'm in this tank… I've got all these wires and things running out of me." Falco glanced at where the implants had been, the spots shaven and bandaged. "Someone opens it up, drags me out of it, I'm covered with this liquid, I'm freezing, I've got no idea what the hell's going on. And now I'm here…"

"It's a hospital ship. We're—" Fox's words got caught in his throat. He was about to say they were safe now, but did he know that for sure? Even though meeting his teammates lifted his spirits, he had to remind himself of that. "Anyway, we were all in a simulation. Like a video game. Nothing that happened in there matters out here. We're going home now."

"But we were home Fox. That was Lylat. What do you mean, we're going home?"

"I told you. None of that was real. The Aparoid Queen had us trapped in there and—"

"Are you tellin' me my entire life wasn't real?"

"No, Falco! I'm just—" Fox paused, taking a deep breath. "It's real hard to explain. But the whole Anglar War? None of that was real. The Aparoid Queen tricked us into thinking we killed her, then she captured us and stuck us in there."

"That's what everyone keeps saying. But what is this place supposed to be? Is it the afterlife?" He glanced around the dayroom, giving it a snort as he did so. "Looks a lot crappier than I thought it would."

"I told you, it's a hospital ship."

"It can't be heaven. Why would someone who murders his friends be here?"

Fox grit his teeth. "Goddamnit, would you listen to what I'm saying to you?"

Falco stared directly into Fox's eyes. "If you're so sure what happened with Lucy and me wasn't real, how do you know this place is real?"

"I—" Fox's voice caught in his throat.

"What's that Fox? Can't hear you."

Fox glanced at the floor. He didn't have a good answer for that one.

"That's what I thought," the bird snorted. "Get away from me, you murderer."

"That. Didn't. Happen." Fox clenched his teeth.

"You're. A. Liar."

Fox growled. "This isn't getting us anywhere."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Classic Falco there. The vulpine sighed, deciding to try a softer approach. "Look, I'm sorry. I felt the same way when I realized the sim was all fake too. Took me a while to come to terms with that." Fox patted Falco's shoulder. "If you wanna talk about it we could—"

Falco slapped aside Fox's hand. And before the vulpine could react, the bird launched himself forward with surprising speed, flying sideways out of his wheelchair and landing on top of Fox. They went tumbling to the floor, the back of Fox's skull hitting the tiled floor. Shockwaves blasted through his head, stars dancing in his vision. Falco held him by the neck, punching him square in the jaw again and again. He saw Falco winding up another punch, but an orderly appeared just in time, grabbing Falco and pulling him back.

"Lemme go, damnit!" Even while struggling, he kept his eyes locked with Fox. "I'm gonna kill you, Fox!"

A team of nurses and orderlies forced Falco back into his wheelchair and carted him off, him screaming and cursing Fox the entire way. They pulled him through a door and slammed it behind them. Meanwhile somebody—Wolf, he recognized—lifted Fox off the floor and placed him back in his seat. Wolf dusted off Fox's shoulders even though there was no need. Fox was suddenly struck by what Rachel saw in the lupine, and felt humbled.

"Never thought I'd see you two fighting like that…" Wolf mused, turning to see a door closing on Falco's screams. "What happened in there, Fox?"

Fox looked at the closed door, the screams and shouts echoing back from behind. _What happened in there?_ Wolf had asked. A question for the ages. He shook his head. "A lot of things. Most of which I'd like to forget."

"If being in that sim did that to Falco, I don't blame you. Is he gonna be all right?"

"He'll come around, eventually. I acted like that when I found out the truth. I only wish I could do something."

Oddly, acknowledging that helped him calm down. Seeing himself in Falco, it felt familiar. All the emotions. The denial. The rage. The bargaining. The crying. Finally accepting it all. It was a familiar pattern, even if it wasn't one that he wanted to see again. But the more continuity he noticed, the better Fox felt. Anything to connect what was happening right now with what came before.

His ears rotated again, picking up Slippy and Peppy rolling up. Turning around, with Wolf's help, he faced his other comrades.

"That's not what I thought would happen…" Peppy's face scrunched in thought. "It affected us all differently, and Falco is the last to come to grips with it."

"Sorry."

"Always like you, Fox, taking the blame for things that aren't your fault. Don't worry about it."

"You two seem like you're handling this a lot better. Why is that?"

"Well," Slippy smirked. "It wasn't all bad in there… I wish Amanda was real."

Fox had to smile at that. Out of himself, Falco, and Slippy, it was Slippy of all people who dated and got married first in the simulation. That was one of Fox's first tip-offs that something about the simulation wasn't right, although he had to admit he liked watching Slippy finding his one true love and have kids. Whenever the simulation took that turn, Slippy always seemed so much happier compared to the other possible outcomes.

"Before we ended up in there, I was too scared to date. Now I'm going to try it for real." He sighed. "It's awful everything that's happened while we were gone, but feeling bad about it isn't going to help at this point. It's important to keep going forward."

Peppy nodded at that sentiment too. "I liked being a Cornerian general too." He chuckled. "I mean Fox…me, in that job? I'm well-respected on Corneria, but still… hard to believe they'd let a mercenary like me become a general. Skip right over the chain of promotion and all that. Also, I had Lucy for a daughter."

Fox blinked. "Right, I remember when I was younger. You and Vivian were trying to have a child but you never could."

Peppy nodded. "I'm a little sad about leaving that place too. Lucy was such a darling little girl." He sniffled, rubbing his eyes. "Best child I've never had. I'm going to miss her."

"Mmmm…" Fox's ears twisted back, wincing at that.

"Something wrong Fox?"

Fox couldn't look Peppy in the face. "One of the last times I was in there, I accused Lucy of being a spy. I knew she wasn't real because you never had a daughter, so…" He took a deep breath. "I shot her. That's what Falco was yelling about before."

"You figured it out before the rest of us that the sim wasn't real, right? Or that's what I heard?"

"I did?"

"Well, it's only natural you'd suspect something wrong about Lucy. Like you said, I never had a daughter. You trusted your instincts, and in the end you turned out to be right when you didn't believe she was what she claimed to be."

"But she was your daughter though. You loved her." Fox tried to see what went on behind Peppy's eyes, but they didn't change from the slight bemusement of Falco's panic attack.

"I wish she were real," the hare began, slowly. "But… well, she isn't. Wishing for it isn't going to change anything. You did what you had to do in there." In spite of Peppy's reassurance, Fox didn't feel a lot better. Funny that. It wasn't real, yet he felt bad about doing it anyway. He looked around the day room. How do you decide on morality anyway when you have no idea what's real and what isn't? Gosh, he could go in circles pondering that question.

Fox heard somebody running into the day room. Rotating around, he saw Rachel coming towards them. "Fox!" She called out, out of breath. "Krystal's awake! She wants to talk to you!"

Fox's heart raced at the sound of that, his ears up and alert.

"Hehe…" Peppy laughed. "Well, someone's excited."

Feeling embarrassed about his reaction, Fox rubbed the back of his head looking over at Peppy.

"Well, don't sit there. Go get 'em, tiger!" He gave Fox a little clap on the back. "Heh, well, you're orange anyway."

Rachel moved to push his wheelchair, but Fox was already out the door, spinning the wheels with all his might. He flew through the hallway, almost mowing down a nurse going the other way; she shrieked and dropped some blankets. Letting the right wheel slide through his fingers, he made a sharp turn back into his room. Inside, Krystal ate a light meal from a tray situated over her bed, a nurse watching her. However, as soon as Fox came into view she beamed a massive smile his way.

"Fox!"

Fox couldn't help himself, rolling right over and giving Krystal a huge hug. They melted into each other's arms. "Krystal…" It was all he needed to say, the two of them holding onto each other for dear life. He wasn't about to let her slip through his fingers again, not after what happened in the simulator.

_You don't need to worry about that anymore Fox,_ she said to him, mind to mind.

Hearing her like this sent a feeling of euphoria flowing through his veins, as though it directly tickled the pleasure center in his brain. _Oh, feels so good hearing you instead of that bitch._

_She's gone for good this time._

_How are you so sure we're out this time though?_ Fox separated away from her.

Krystal took Fox's hands. _Feel that? Feel my warmth? Feel the fur? What could be more real than that?_ She pushed his hands down the side of her torso, closer to her tail…

It felt wonderful, enrapturing, the softness and plushness of her fur exactly how he remembered it. Yet a nagging feeling persisted in Fox's mind. He pulled back, his smile fading away.

Krystal looked confused, staring back at him. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"I am, it's just… We did just get out of there after all, and everything's different now. There's so much to sort through." He couldn't help but look around the room.

_You worry too much Fox._ She put a finger on his muzzle, directing it right back to her own face. _You should relax._

He brushed aside her finger. "You woke up inside one of those tanks like I did, right?"

While annoyed at his gesture, she answered "I did."

"The Aparoid home world… It was like a giant maze. How'd you find me and Star Wolf?"

She smirked at that. "Wasn't hard, between all the gunshots and explosions. I followed the noise."

"Yeah but all those Aparoids were wandering around the halls too. I would've been killed by them if Star Wolf hadn't come along. Weren't you all atrophied like I was?"

"Well, I think I woke up before you did. Had more time to recover. Maybe that helped."

"But I could barely walk, let alone do anything else."

"Does any of that matter? We're here now. We're safe."

Fox didn't know what to believe anymore. Not after that dream. Not after so long in that simulation. Krystal laid a hand on his shoulder, as he stared out the window again.

_See all of that? It's real. We can go explore all of that now, if you like. We can do whatever we want now._

She was so calm, so relaxed. Fox felt envious with how well she took in all of this. But another question was burning in the back of his mind.

"That reminds me of something else. I was talking to the Queen telepathically before we killed her. She said she assimilated you."

"Well I'm here now, obviously." She laughed. "Maybe she was trying to get under your skin, break your spirit."

"But she could have easily assimilated you for real. Why didn't she do it? She'd have no reason not to do it."

"I don't know Fox. But what's happened has happened. Why don't we get on with our lives, now that we're out of there?"

"That simulation fooled me for so long." Fox shook his head, still looking out the window. "This could be another of the Queen's tricks."

"She's dead, Fox. You killed her for real this time. Don't be a fool. Stop all this nonsense. There's no reason to continue fighting. We're here now. All of our friends are here too. We can go home to Lylat, start over, make new lives." As she did so, she reached around his neck, pulling him in closer.

Fox ignored her try at intimacy. "But Corneria's gone, and so many people are dead."

Krystal paused, seeming to gathering her thoughts. "I felt the same way when Cerinia was destroyed. You want to know what keeps me going?"

Fox turned to face her. "What?"

"When I lost my home, I had a choice. I could either fixate on it, let the destruction and death of all my people consume me, turn me into something wretched, maybe even kill myself… Or I could stop mourning and keep living my life. For a while I was doing the former, but then it dawned on me it wasn't going to bring my home back, no matter how much I grieved. So I chose the latter. There wasn't anything else to do, except pick up the pieces and try to move forward."

She pulled him in closer, their noses only an inch or two apart. "It'll be the same for you now. You can either let it consume you, or you can keep going forward." She smiled, giving him a little kiss on the lips. "I'm here for you. Whatever you're going through now, I've dealt with it too and I can help you work through it."

_Whatever you're going through now…_ He hadn't even considered this disaster must feel familiar for her. Tears formed in Fox's eyes. "Thanks Krystal."

"Lylat will heal with time. Everything does. Maybe by the time we have Marcus, it'll be something even better than what it was before."

Fox raised an eyebrow. "Marcus?"

"Of course, Fox." She giggled. "Wouldn't you like to have a son for real now? You must've loved him back in the simulation."

"I did but… it's a little sudden to be talking about a cub right now isn't it? And besides, what if it's a girl?"

"We'll call her… Marcie?"

That got a chuckle out of both of them.

"So what do you say? You want to settle down, drop the mercenary lifestyle?"

"What else can we do?" Fox looked out over the stars. "We've lost everything. No more _Great Fox_ and Arwings. But at least we're all alive. We can start over."

_You're right Fox. We can start over._

Her telepathic voice was still the best sound in the galaxy right now.

"Everyone is real," she continued. "I can feel so many minds all around me. All of these people are the real deal, I promise you that. That was really Bill, that really was Wolf, those really were your teammates, this really is a Cornerian ship, and you really are out of the sim."

She swept her arms around the back of his neck. "It's hard to believe you're out, but after a while you'll see it's the truth. We've been through a lot. You especially since you figured it out before everyone else. It would be hardest for you to come back, learning to trust that what you see in front of you. But you'll feel fine after a while. I guarantee it. Now, the others are awake right? I'd like to go talk to them."

"Of course," Fox grinned. "Bet they'd be happy to see you too."

The nurse, who'd been keeping quiet until now, nodded. "I'll get you a wheelchair right now, ma'am."

Hours passed. At the end of the day, after catching up with all of his friends, Fox laid on his bed. In spite of how tired he was, he laid there for a long time, staring at the ceiling. He felt afraid to go to sleep. If he did, would he wake up yet again on the bridge of the _Great Fox II_? He wanted to believe this was all real, but after so long in the simulation, he'd felt betrayed at every turn. Could he put his faith in this? Was it the real deal? Was he out for good? He and Krystal and everyone else?

He glanced over at Krystal, the vixen sleeping in peace. How she felt so confident about this reality, Fox had no idea. But observing her calmed him down all on its own, a serene feeling washing over him as he admired her glowing blue fur under the starry light. Fox smiled, his eyes fluttering closed. Last thing he saw was the grin tugging at the edge of her mouth…


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Fox leaned back into the captain's chair of the _Great Fox II_ , his feet resting on a console in front of him. He stared around the bridge, sighing.

"I knew it. None of it was real…" He almost took a perverse joy in that fact, knowing he'd been right to be paranoid.

Fox stretched out again, scratching his backside. But when he took a second look around, he realized things were different again. This wasn't the _Great Fox II_. It was _the Great Fox_ , the original article. It felt a lot bigger than he remembered too, for some reason. He slid off the chair, feeling like he'd dropped about a foot longer than normal. Looking at himself, he realized he was wearing a red t-shirt, shorts and sneakers, instead of his usual flight suit. And he felt young. Very young. He didn't feel the many scars and cuts he'd picked up under the years beneath his fur.

Fox rushed over to the window. Outside, he recognized the Space Dynamics shipyard in orbit above Corneria, space stations with dry docks as far as the eye could see, various ships under construction. And when he examined it, Fox realized the bridge wasn't complete either. Not all of the monitors were on, and some panels were exposed too, revealing wires. An errant tool box or bin of parts sat here and there. R.O.B. wasn't here either, because he hadn't been installed yet. Fox remembered all of this. This was back when he was a teenager, when the _Great Fox_ was under construction.

Fox gasped. If this was back when he was a teen, then did that mean?—

—the bridge doors in the back whooshed open, Fox slowly turning around. Someone wearing a set of silver boots, much like Fox's own, stepped into the room. Fox panned his head up, almost seeing a mirror image of his older self standing there. Same green flight suit, same scarf, same silver flight jacket. The only things different were the aviator sunglasses on the vulpes' face, and a slight nick in his left ear. His father, James McCloud.

"Hey son!" the elder vulpine called out, grinning as he walked across the bridge to meet Fox. "I thought you'd be here."

Fox trembled, taking a step back as his father approached. He forgot he used to be smaller than his father at this age. Back then, it made Dad feel all the more impressive, like a superhero standing tall on the cover of his favorite comic book. But what about now? What did all of this mean?

"Fox, are you okay?" Dad stopped, looking down upon him with a raised eyebrow.

Fox met his father's eyes behind the aviators. Even through the tinted glass, the look in them seemed to be of genuine concern. But Fox knew how deceptive the fake versions of his friends and family could be in the simulation. They fooled him for a long time, after all. Even so, he'd never had to contend with his father in there. Not like this. Fox's tail curled between his legs. What should he do? Run? Fight? But could he fight his own father? He tensed his legs, clenching his fists.

"Son?" Frowning, his father leaned forward to get more at Fox's eye level. "Is something wrong? You're looking at me like I'm pointing a gun at you or something."

"Stay away!" Fox growled, keeping his body wound tight, ready to lash out or run for his life.

The floor shook underneath their feet, the entire ship around them vibrating. A stack of loose wall panels fell over and clattered to the floor. James himself swayed around, struggling to maintain balance. Fox lowered his arms, looking around the room. As soon as it started, the shaking ended. Did that just happen? Fox could see where the panels had fallen to the floor.

"That was weird…" James looked around the room. "Eh, maybe it was space debris hitting the station." James took off his aviators and slipped them into a pocket. "Anyway son, you were so excited to come here, get a good look at the _Great Fox_. Why are you acting like this?"

Fox didn't know what the hell to think. Could he trust the words of this person standing in front of him?

Even so, staring deep into those emerald green eyes which matched his own, Fox found it difficult to hate this person in front of him. His fists loosened, arms falling to his sides. He respected and loved his father more than anybody else in the universe. How could he lash out at somebody like that?

Ten years he spent imprisoned in the simulation, only now he didn't know who to trust or believe now that he was out. He found out Corneria was assimilated by the Aparoids. Falco, his dear friend Falco, punched him in the face. And now this, whatever it was. Too much. It was too much. Fox sniffled, tears streaming down his face.

James hesitated, watching his son rub at his eyes, but then he stretched out one of his arms. Fox gasped, raising his hands to defend himself, but the elder fox only turned out to be taking off his silver jacket. "Here, try this. You must be freezing. I know you're not used to being in space all the time like me."

James wrapped the jacket around the younger vulpine. Still warm from his father's body heat, the jacket felt like a pleasant, glowing wave washing over him. More than that. It felt like mental armor, protecting his mind from all the horrible thoughts swimming through it moments before. Fox took a deep breath, shutting his eyes as the warmth settled in to his skin. The sensation of the silvery fabric on his fur relaxed him. He couldn't help but drink it all in.

"Thanks Dad," Fox whispered, so faint he himself almost didn't hear himself say it.

"No problem, Fox." Dad smiled back. "You feel better now?"

Fox nodded, allowing a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry."

"I know you're not over losing your mom yet." Dad rose back into a full stand. He shook his head, wiping a hand through the white tuft of hair between his hears. "Gotta admit, I'm not either."

_Mom…_

Fox forgot she'd died around this time in his life. He knew what Dad was talking about. It took years for him to fully recover. In the meantime he'd experienced emotional breakdowns everywhere: at the flight academy, while trying to sleep, or even walking around town. But Dad had been there every step of the way to help him work through it. And that wasn't only a one-way deal. The truth was the two of them needed each other, so they could work their way through the grief and heartache together.

_T_ _hen Dad died too._

Fox gasped. "Dad!" He looked up. "When are you going to Venom?"

"Eh?" Dad frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Please don't go!" Fox reached out, grabbing his father by his arms, holding back tears in his eyes. "It's a trap!"

James cocked his head. "Fox, I went there a couple weeks ago. The recon job for General Pepper's already done. You know that. Why would I go back there again?"

"What? But Pigma—"

Dad's tail jumped. He grabbed his son's arms, pulling him in close so their muzzles almost touched. "Son, how did you know about that?!"

Fox blinked. "What?"

"Pigma's in a Cornerian prison now. I found out he has a secret bank account. He was getting payments from a shell company—"

"Andross was paying him, right? He was a spy?"

Dad's jaw dropped, his ears standing straight up. "You knew that too?! That's classified information! When I got back, General Pepper made me sign all this stuff. Nobody outside the military is supposed to know Andross is still alive. You haven't been going through my files, have you?"

"Uh... Uh uh..." Fox averted his eyes, looking at the floor. The young vulpine's heart raced, tail curling between his legs. What did this mean? The past was different now. Was it a good thing? A bad thing? And how would he answer his dad?

"Listen Fox, this is very important." His father seemed to have calmed down, although a stern look still crossed Dad's pointed muzzle. "I've got no clue how you found out, but you could get us both in a lot of trouble if you tell people about what you told me. I need you to keep this a secret. Can you do that?"

Fox nodded furiously.

"Stay quiet for the next couple months, all right?" James blinked, sighing with realization. "Do you know what's happening in the next few months too?"

"The Cornerians are launching an offensive?"

James slapped himself on the forehead. "I knew I should change my passwords more often." The elder fox pointed a finger at his son. "Boy, you and I are gonna have a chat later and—"

Fox wrapped himself around James, staring up into his father's face. Tears rolled down his face, although he let out the biggest smile he could. "Dad… I'm so happy you're here." His tail wagged behind him.

Dad looked startled at first, although before long he pat his son on the back as he returned the hug. "Your mom dying was bad enough." His father held him tight, his own tail waving back and forth. "I'd never forgive myself if I died and left you all alone." Fox buried himself into his father's side, bawling his eyes out. Dad pat him on the shoulder. The two of them stood there. Fox didn't want to let go, feeling afraid Dad might vanish into nothingness if he did.

But eventually the two of them parted, a large smile now on his father's face. "Tell you what, how about I take you to Pepperonia and I get us both a large supreme, just the way you like it?"

Wait, Pepperonia? That was Fox's favorite pizza place from when he was younger, despite being nothing but a mom and pop pizza joint in suburban Corneria City. Even though Fox hardly ever got to eat there in his later years from doing off-planet mercenary work, he still missed the place dearly after it closed down. All the bigger pizza chains pushed it out of business. But now it was back? He could eat there again?

A massive grin crossed his face. "I'd love to Dad!" His tail beat behind him like a propeller.

"Great!" Dad flashed his teeth. "Let's get out of here."

Within minutes they were on the Space Dynamics courtesy shuttle, getting a ride back to the surface. As the ship descended, they glanced out the window, taking a look at the unfinished _Great Fox's_ exterior in its assembly dock. She wasn't much of a sight right now. While the fuselage was largely complete, the engines weren't installed in the back and the metal remained unpainted. Fox glanced at where the 'Star Fox' decals should have been, but they showed nothing but bare metal at the moment.

Even so, James beamed with pride as he watched the assembly take place. "My carrier Fox…" He laughed. "It's gonna cost me a lot, but damn it feels good to say that. My _carrier_ , the _Great Fox._ " He made a wave in the air, as if highlighting the words hovering there. "Too bad it won't be ready for a couple more years. It'd be a real big help for what's coming soon. And someday, it'll be yours too."

Fox smiled. "I think I know what that'll feel like…"

Soon the shuttle settled onto the tarmac at Space Dynamic's spaceport by the Cornerian Ocean. The sun was starting to set below the horizon, bathing everything in a deep rusty orange. The sea crashed against the shoreline nearby, the salty air mixing with the exhaust of spaceships. Ships took off and arrived from the port at a breakneck pace, filling the sky above. Fox marveled at the sight. It was like he'd never been an adult before. He blinked. Why was he thinking about that?

Dad jangled his car keys in his hand as they walked. After a few minutes, they arrived at the parking lot, strolling past rows and rows of cars.

"There she is!" James pointed with a key.

Dad walked over to a bright red Manta sports car. Fox remembered him saying it was his dream car as a kid. So he decided to buy one, and he'd done an excellent job restoring it too. Despite being forty years old, it looked like it just left the factory, the chrome bumpers and trim shining in the late evening sun. The Manta was Dad's pride and joy...aside from the Star Fox team of course. The smile faded from the teenaged Fox's face.

"Son?" James opened the driver's door, looking back to Fox. "You coming?"

Fox took another look at his father's low slung, sleek ride. Why did this feel wrong? For some reason, he felt like his father wasn't supposed to have this car. Why was that? Fox shook his head. Ridiculous. Why was he thinking such silly things? Fox grinned again, running for the passenger door. He leaped into the car, buckling his seatbelt in the same motion as jumping inside.

"Let's go Dad! I want a Galactic Supreme!"

"You got it!" James slammed the door, twisting the key in the ignition.

The car roared to life, loud enough to set off the alarms of a few nearby cars. The two of them laughed as the lights flashed on the nearby vehicles. With James slamming on the accelerator, they rocketed out of the parking lot in a cloud of smoke, the rubber particles wafting away in the cool sea breeze.

~X~

"To fame, fortune, and fat paychecks!" Falco shouted, raising his glass.

"Cheers!" The rest of the Star Fox team raised their glasses in unison, clinking them together.

Gurgling sounds followed as everyone downed the burning liquid together. Smiling, Fox sat his glass on the wooden bar first. He wasn't much of a drinker, although that was mostly because he'd only turned the legal Cornerian drinking age of eighteen several months ago. Still, he didn't see himself picking this up as a habit. As a professional mercenary fighter pilot, he didn't like the idea of consuming substances that would impair his judgment. That could be fatal at the wrong time.

Meanwhile Falco guzzled a bottle all to himself, while Slippy took shot after shot. The toad hesitated a bit between each one, as if wondering if he should really have another. The intervals kept getting shorter and shorter though. Peppy took small little sips himself, occasionally grinning and shaking his head at Falco's and Slippy's antics.

To celebrate defeating Andross and winning the Lylat Wars, tonight they'd rented out the entire VIP bar on the top floor of the exclusive Mallard Hotel, right in the center of Corneria City. A clear glass dome surrounded the space, giving the patron a full panorama view of the hundreds of shiny skyscrapers filling the downtown area. Almost every way you looked, you found yourself face to face with massive facades of glass and steel, streets forming deep metallic canyons. All of it shone and twinkled in the night like a box full of priceless jewels.

The circle-shaped bar rested in the center of the room like an island, the booze flowing freely from it now that they'd paid the exorbitant price to reserve this place. The canary bartender, the only other person here besides Star Fox, kept serving drink after drink, looking proud to be serving the saviors of the Lylat System in spite of their antics. A massive buffet sat on a table several feet away, filled with the finest delicacies from all over Lylat: two-hundred-credits-a-pound khazana crab from Zoness, three-hundred-credits-a-pound shakora steaks from Katina, and even albarra ice cream with edible gold flakes on top. Most of it would end up in the trash.

Despite the impressive surroundings and jovial mood, Fox felt uncomfortable being here. This swanky lounge didn't look like somewhere where they belonged, and he didn't like blowing this much cash on a party. He would have preferred celebrating at a smaller, more hole-in-the-wall kind of place. Maybe have something simpler to eat too, like wings with celery and carrot sticks. Ah well, it wasn't his decision to be here. Their team leader chose this place.

Speaking of… Fox's whiskers twitched as he glanced around the bar. "Hey Peppy," the vulpine stood, shouldering his way past the exuberant Falco starting in on another bottle. "You see where my dad went?"

"He went over there." Peppy smirked, pointing to the other side of the circular room. "He told me it was getting a little too noisy."

"I'm _freaking invincible_!" Falco shouted, followed by an empty bottle flying past Fox's head. It shattered against a nearby table. The bird jumped around, laughing and hollering, before spinning around to face the canary behind the bar. "Gimme another!"

"I don't think that's a good idea…sir." The canary backed himself against the rows of liquor behind them, glancing between the very drunk Falco and the shattered glass. The bottles clinked together when the bartender bumped into it.

"You wouldn't even _be_ here if it wasn't for us saving your butt!" Narrowing his reddening eyes, Falco climbed over the bar. "Gimme another now!"

The canary reached for a nearby telephone, punching in a number.

Sighing, Peppy got off his bar stool. "I'll take care of him. Don't worry about it Fox." The hare brushed past, leaving Fox standing there. Peppy dragged Falco back as the bird tried to reach out and grab the bartender.

Shaking his head, Fox walked around the bar and into the other half of the lounge. The room turned almost pitch black as he made his way there, considering the staff only left the lights on where they'd set up their little party. Fox couldn't see a thing aside from the ambient light coming from the skyscrapers outside. He was about to go look elsewhere when he spotted a vulpine-shaped figure standing alone by the windows on the far side of the room, the silhouette almost invisible.

Should he go over there? He sensed his father wanted to be left alone, considering how he'd isolated himself. Come to think of it, Dad seemed awful quiet ever since the two of them killed Andross and fled the mad scientist's collapsing underground base. He'd spent most of the trip back sitting in the captain's chair on the _Great Fox_ , a blank look on his face. When they met General Pepper and received their awards at the victory celebration, Dad only smiled for the cameras, and the grin disappeared as soon as they left the room. When they went back to Pepper's office to get paid, the hound dog couldn't stop laughing and talking on and on about what a great service their team had done, but his father had said less than a dozen words in return. He simply took the bill with the general's signature, accepted payment, shook hands, and they left. That was it.

Why though? At times during all of that, Fox almost felt like they were attending a funeral. He wanted to find out what was up, but felt unsure about how to approach his father right now.

Fox heard a skittering sound on the floor. Glancing down, he spotted a huge roach zooming across the polished wood. He gasped, jumping away and almost tripping over a stray chair in the process. The silhouette at the window spun around.

"Fox?" Dad called out.

Ears folding back in embarrassment, Fox smiled. "Are you doing okay over there, Dad?"

"Oh, don't mind me." Even though he couldn't see Dad's face in the dark, Fox imagined the forced smile again. "Why don't you go have fun with the others?"

"No, I need to talk to you."

Fox moved to his father through the gloomy dining area, being careful not to bump into the empty tables or chairs scattered about. His father's face came into view as he walked next to the window. A screen outside the glass advertised vacations on Aquas, the glowing image of the ocean tinting his father's face blue. Dad still had that blank look on his eyes as he stared at the floor, his ears drooping.

"Why are you hiding over here, Dad?"

Dad played with his glass, the drink swirling inside it. "I thought I'd feel better by now, but I don't." He tightened his grip on the container. "It's Vixy. We've avenged her, but it's not going to bring her back."

Fox's ears rose in understanding. No wonder the victory celebration felt like a funeral with his father around. It all made sense now. Fox been so excited about winning the war he'd forgotten. Now he was ashamed of himself. Dad was right. Despite all the impressive things they'd done over the past year and a half, none of it would bring her back. The knowledge felt like a yoke hanging around Fox's neck.

"Vixy…" Dad kept swirling the glass. "Losing her got me to wake up in the morning. Train to be the best damn pilot in the system. Build Star Fox into what it is now. Take on Andross one day and make him pay for everything he's done. Now we've killed him, Lylat's at peace, and…" He shook his head. Dad turned to look out the window, taking a sip. "I don't know son."

What could Fox say? He moved to stand next to his father, the two of them looking out the window. Even though the Battle of Corneria had been months ago and most of the damage repaired, some scars remained: Faded black marks on the sides of buildings from fires, fresh asphalt where explosions tore holes in the street, and plywood covering windows where the glass hadn't been replaced yet. But aside from that, Corneria City shone bright and looked as vibrant as if nothing had happened, crowds of Lylatians surging along the sidewalks despite the late hour.

"Say Fox…" Dad turned to him. "You ever thought about picking up dating again?"

Fox's ear twitched. "Uh, why do you ask?"

"Oh, I remembered you dating Fara back when you were in the academy, before all this happened." His father smiled, his tail twitching in interest. "You gonna pick things up with her again, now that the war's over?"

"I don't see that happening." Fox sighed, shaking his head. "She wanted to stay with the Cornerian military, and I obviously didn't since I'm here. We can't reconcile that." He recalled one happy thought though, his tail wagging a bit. "She did call me and congratulate me on the way back here, after we killed Andross. So we're still friends I guess. That's…something?" He chuckled, although it felt like a hollow consolation as he said it.

"Banished to the friend zone, huh?" Dad smiled, shaking his head. "Don't worry too much about it son. I dated a few other women before I met Vixy. It's no big deal." James got a faraway look in his eyes, looking back out the window. "But Vixy… The moment I saw her something inside of me clicked, and I knew I was destined to be her husband. I don't believe in fate or in luck, Fox, but I knew there was something momentous in that choice. I followed it, not out of puppy love or mere infatuation, but because I _knew_ , I was convinced. I didn't know about Vixy's feelings on the matter when she first saw me, but it all turned out great for the two of us. All the memories we made together… I wouldn't give them up for anything. You wouldn't be here today without her, after all. She lives on through you." James turned, smiling as he put a hand on his son's shoulder. "One day, I want you to get married too."

Fox's ears jumped, his tail going still. That sure came out of nowhere. "Wait, what? Me get married?"

Dad nodded at him, taking another swill from his glass. He was serious.

"Is that a good idea? With me being a mercenary now?" Fox raised his eyebrows.

"You wouldn't be here today if I hadn't done that." Dad gestured to himself, putting a dumb grin on his face.

"Okay, obviously." The younger fox rolled his eyes. "But me… I'm thinking I'd always be afraid of dying one day and leaving behind my mate."

"I wouldn't worry too much." James shook his head. "I get the feeling Lylat's going to be at peace for a long, long time now. This is the best time to start a new family."

Even though James seemed happier now, Fox didn't like the direction this conversation was going. Felt kind of like James was micromanaging his future now. He was a man now, damn it! He could make his own choices!

"Isn't it a bit early for me to be thinking about something like this?"

James shook his head. "Not at all. This part of your life determines what the rest of your life is going to be like. Now's the perfect time to be thinking about the future. You don't think you'll do mercenary work for the rest of your life, do you? Spend all your time in the _Great Fox_ zipping from one side of Lylat to the other for decades?"

"Well, duh!" Fox gave a sarcastic chuckle. "We beat Andross and the whole Venomian military! If we can do that, we can do anything!"

"Ah, youthful exuberance." Dad laughed back. "Wish I still had that."

Fox tilted his head. "Eh?"

"You're right to be proud, son. That's why I reserved this place for us, even though it cost a fortune." James waved around the room. "But remember, you're eighteen. Your body is at its peak physical performance now, and you're not going to be like this forever." James pointed at his eyes. "I've had perfect vision most of my life, but now it's fading. We've got the medical technology to let you keep your sight longer these days, but it's not going to stop the natural degradation forever."

"Really?"

"Unfortunate, but it's a fact of life." James took another sip from his drink. "That's why you need to be thinking about the future. It's coming, whether you like it or not."

Fox didn't like the sound of that. This was as strong as he would ever be? He held out his arm. While a rich coat of orange fur covered his skin, his thick muscles were prominent enough to be visible underneath. Sooner or later, he would lose this? It sounded so depressing to know that he'd only be getting weaker in the future, not stronger.

"Oh don't take it so hard!" James grinned at him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "There's plenty of great things about growing older too. I love watching you grow into a man."

Fox smiled back. He'd loved fighting alongside his father during the Lylat Wars and watching the master at work. Fox himself was no slouch at piloting. He'd gotten a quarter of the team's kills along the way. James though was in a whole other league, taking over half the kills for himself. Fox had a long way to go to catch up to his father, and he couldn't help but feel jealous. But to know his father loved watching him fight cast all those feelings aside.

"Having a family's a great way to make your later years feel like they're worth something," James continued. "Bring you joy. Make you feel proud. And I want grandkids. It'd help fill the void we've both got in our hearts. You'll be a great husband to some foxy vixen one day."

Fox's face reddened, earning himself a wide grin from James.

"Come on son! No need to get so sheepish about it. You looked ridiculous when you were dating Fara back in the academy." James laughed. "You kept telling me your dates were study groups. You think you were fooling anybody? Especially with the way you'd always s-s-s-s-stutter when you mentioned you were going to be discussing 'flight maneuvers'."

Fox's skin went beet red underneath his fur, plainly visible through the whiter fur on his cheeks.

"Anyway son, we can talk more about this later." James took a bottle off a nearby table, refilling his glass and Fox's. "For the moment, let's relax. We're going to have a lot of work to do before long."

"What makes you say that?" Fox tilted his head. "Lylat's going to be at peace now. What will we do?"

"Well, I see a new business opportunity." James looked back out the window, spotting a Cornerian flag waving on a nearby flagpole. "We're hot stuff now that we've saved Lylat, and I want to capitalize while we're got the spotlight. I'm going to use our paycheck to open a flight school on Papetoon, and I'm going to offer enhanced training to Cornerian military pilots. Everyone considers us the best of the best now, right?" His father's tail wagged behind him, a huge smile on his face. "The Cornerian government would love having more pilots with our skills. Soon we'll be their go-to flight school instead of their flight academy. This will be what we'll do during peace time. I want you and Peppy to be my first training instructors."

"Me, be a trainer?" Fox's face scrunched up. "Don't think I'd like that. I'd rather be out doing missions."

"It'll help develop your leadership skills, which leads into what I want to say next." James pointed at a giant television screen mounted on a nearby skyscraper. The screen showed the news, prominently displaying the _Great Fox_ and the Arwings in formation next to it. "When wars or conflict breaks out again, we're going to use the money we earn from the flight school to expand mercenary operations. Why settle for one _Great Fox_ and one Star Fox squadron? Why not have more?"

Fox imagined over a dozen Star Fox squadrons flying straight for Area 6 over Venom, shredding through the Venomian defense like it was nothing but tissue paper. He pictured Star Wolf collectively crapping their pants upon seeing several dozen Arwings headed straight for them, followed by Andross' base being bombed into oblivion by multiple _Great Foxes_. It was a sight to behold.

"You like that?" Dad put a real sly grin on his face.

"You've thought this out, haven't you?"

"We've achieved a huge victory." Dad took another sip from his glass. "But it doesn't mean we can stop and rest. We need to be thinking ahead or we're going to get left behind."

"But how are we going to run all of this?"

"It won't be hard to convince others to join us. We're the heroes of Lylat now. Lots of pilots would be eager to work for us. I'm thinking about buying out some other PMCs to fill our ranks. Less competition, more qualified personnel, and bigger paychecks for everyone. As for myself, eventually I'm going to settle back into a more administrative role. You can keep flying of course. I'll let you be team leader of our flagship squadron."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, you can start out with Falco and Slippy."

Fox winced. " _Those_ guys?" He glanced towards where the rest of the Star Fox team was celebrating. Falco had gotten hold of a drink tray and was trying to balance it on the tip of his beak, while Slippy laughed as the tray kept making noisy clangs as it fell onto the floor. Peppy smirked as he watched the spectacle.

James laughed. "Well, we did make it through the Lylat Wars with them. That says a lot to me. Anyway son, we can talk more about the future later. For now…" He motioned with his drink for them to rejoin the group. "Let's have some fun, all right?"

The elder fox walked over, Fox grinning as he followed his father.

~X~

Fox breathed hard, pumping his legs as he rushed up the stone stairs inside the Krazoa Palace.

"Son, how are you holding up?" his dad spoke via radio from the _Great Fox I_ in orbit above Dinosaur Planet.

"Just got the last Krazoa spirit from General Scales!" Fox said in between gasping breaths. "Almost to the roof now!"

"Ah, good!" James laughed. "So you're about to free that hot blue vixen huh? About time huh? I'll come down myself. Can't wait to meet her face to face."

In spite of feeling burning on his face with Dad talking about hot blue vixens, Fox smiled. He couldn't wait either.

"Krystal, you said her name was?"

"Yeah!" And he'd learned it through a telepathic message recorded into her staff. Even thinking about that in his own head it sounded crazy. "You got a medical team on the way? She might need care after I free her." Fox received another telepathic message from her earlier, where she said she was dying.

"I'll get Miyu and Fay from Beta squadron over there," James said. "The rest of Alpha squadron should be there shortly."

"Roger!" Fox smiled.

James' idea to open a flight school turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to Star Fox, barring the Lylat Wars. They'd raked in the cash on all the training contracts they had with the Cornerian military. Like his father predicted, instead of one _Great Fox_ and one team, now they had twelve _Great Foxes_ , each hosting a squadron consisting of two teams. They'd further divided them into two wings, with James commanding one wing while Peppy commanded the other.

Fox loved having all of that at his back. He couldn't have imagined the Star Fox team taking on a mission the size of Dinosaur Planet with only five pilots. They had operatives running all over the place collecting the Spell Stones and fighting the Sharp Claw, leaving Fox to focus on collecting the Krazoa spirits to rescue Krystal. All that was left for him to do now was return the last Krazoa Spirit, then she would be free and Dinosaur Planet would be saved.

At last he burst out onto the roof of the Krazoa Palace, stone walls towering over him. The rains of the relentless storm pounded down on his head, soaking him from head to toe within seconds. But Fox didn't care, his boots splashing in the puddles as he clomped over the stone tiles. Turning a corner, he spotted the shrine. The blue crystal hovered in the center of it, the blue vixen floating there in the center. Still there. In a minute more, it'd all be over.

Fox ran for the Krazoa relief at the base of the shrine, getting down on his knees on the glowing white pedestal in front of it. Closing his eyes, he clenched his fingers, willing the Krazoa Spirit inside his body to come forth. A sensation rose in his chest, as though something was being pulled out of it through his skin. Felt like someone was trying to rip his heart out. But from the past four times, Fox knew it would only last for a few seconds. Gritting his teeth, he held his arms out, screaming as the spirit flew out of his body and merged with the relief mounted into the wall.

The vulpine collapsed to his arm on the floor, raindrops rolling down his fur in streams as he clutched at his chest with his other hand. There, it was done… But how exactly would this free her from the prison? Grunting, Fox rose back into a stand, walking round the corner to see the Krazoa spirits circling the shrine. Just like before. Fox waited for a few moments, but nothing else happened.

Narrowing his eyes, he ran for the shrine. "What's going on? You said this would save her!"

As he approached, the Krazoa spirits shot into Krystal's body, one by one. She contorted inside the crystal with each impact, as if the spirits twisted her body around like some kind of puppet.

"No!"

At last he reached the top of the stairs, standing before the crystal. The spirits blasted out of her body again, entering a nearby Krazoa statue. However, he paid it no mind, watching her stir awake.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Explosions rattled the metal harness holding the crystal up, the gemstone exploding into shards and leaving Krystal in midair. Time seemed to slow, as he watched the blue vixen fall towards the pit over which she'd been hovering. Thinking on instinct, he ripped the staff off of his back, holding it out. Fortunately the vixen seemed to be thinking the same thing, as she grabbed on, the staff clanging off of the lip of the pit. Fox grit his teeth, struggling to hold her weight. She was heavier than she looked.

But in a few seconds it was over, Krystal letting go of the staff to hold onto the edge of the pit. Fox held out a hand, getting his first face to face look at her. His jaw dropped. Despite dangling over a fatal drop, time felt like it stopped, the two of them staring into each other's eyes. Those turquoise eyes looked so deep he could go swimming in them. She looked a little dazed and confused, but otherwise seemed so happy to see him. Grinning, Fox dragged her onto the floor, saving her from falling.

"Well look at this!"

Fox and the blue vixen turned towards the voice. James stood there, still wearing his sunglasses in spite of the dark storm around them. A big grin covered his face, his arms folded as he walked over. He helped Fox drag Krystal away from the hole.

"My my Fox!" James looked over her. "Quite a catch, isn't she?"

Fox's face reddened underneath his fur, as Dad commented on her looks even though she'd almost died just now.

"I'm sorry?" Her voice had such an exotic accent. Sounded beautiful to Fox's ears. "A catch? What do you mean?"

Fox jumped between Krystal and his father. "Uh…it's nothing!" He put on a nervous smile, his eyes betraying how afraid he felt.

"Come now Fox…" James pushed past his son. "I'd like to say hello to her."

The elder vulpine reached down and pulled her up by the hand, almost looking like he was about to kiss it. Her outfit sure didn't leave much to the imagination, between the loincloth and the steel bra. It was a good thing James was wearing sunglasses, as it kept the girl from seeing where his eyes were looking.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Krystal brushed herself off, straightening out her wet fur from the rain. She looked over to Fox, making a big grin at him. "I knew I could count on you. You found my staff, and you heard me even though I was in that crystal." She rushed him, bringing him into a giant hug with a rather strong grip. Fox almost felt like his eyes were popping out. "Thank you, Fox."

Meanwhile, Fox watched Dad give him this massive grin as the two of them hugged. His father had been annoyed Fox had never found a mate in the six years since the Lylat Wars. Fox suspected Dad was thinking this blue vixen would do fine. Even so, Fox loved the feel of her soft, plush fur against his own. He returned the hug, letting himself sink into it and feel her warmth in spite of the cold rain still pounding down on them.

Before they could reach the ground though, Fox heard a booming voice echoing across the temple's roof. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. "I am reborn! The mighty Krazoa God!" Laughter rang out all around them. Fox spun around, seeing the Krazoa mask the spirits had entered was floating now, staring at them with its solid white eyes. "Kneel! All those that stand before me!"

Fox spun the staff around, pointing it at the giant mask. He didn't know what the hell to make of this, but he wasn't about to let it stop him now.

But before he could fire a shot, the mask exploded into pieces, shards of them scattering all over the temple floor. Fox raised his hands, blocking the shards from his face with one hand. But when he looked back, he saw something he never expected to see. It was Krystal again, floating in midair with her arms outstretched. What the hell? Two of her? He turned around, spotting the first Krystal still standing there. In fact, the first one seemed as shocked as him. Fox looked back and forth between the two of them.

The second Krystal floated to the ground, letting her arms fall to her side. A furious look crossed her face as she stared at the other Krystal, ears pressed against her skull and eyes narrowed. She paced over to the two of them.

"Get away from her Fox!" The second Krystal shouted at him, pointing at her double from the crystal. "That's the Aparoid Queen!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Fox froze, looking between the two Krystals, the sight of them surreal to him. They stared back, identical and indistinguishable from each other: same blue fur, same aquamarine eyes, same banded tail, same clothes.

The second Krystal, the one that broke out of the giant Krazoa mask, marched straight towards him, a furious look on her face. The vulpine ripped the staff off of his back and pointed it at her, but his hands trembled as he grasped the weapon. What should he do? Attack her? But how could he do something like that? But then she stopped walking right before getting inside striking distance. He would have sighed with relief if he wasn't so tense right now.

"Are you blind Fox?!" she screamed at him, pointing at the first Krystal he'd used the Krazoa spirits to save. "That's the Aparoid Queen! Can't you see?"

Fox's ears peeled back at the shouting. He kept the staff pointed at the second Krystal, his eyes darting back and forth between the two vixens. Stepping back, he tried to keep both of them in sight at the same time. They looked like twin blue blurs with how fast his vision moved. What to do? What to do?

"Fox! She's trying to trick you!" the second Krystal shouted at him. "I'm telling you she's the Queen!"

"Shut up!" Fox waved the staff at her, keeping her at arm's reach.

What was she saying about the Aparoid Queen? He felt like he should know what she was talking about. But why? Even as he edged backwards, the second Krystal paced after him, starting a slow motion chase across the rooftop. Fox wished she'd _stop_ already, glancing backwards to see a wall approaching. The staff felt slippery in his hands between the rain water and his sweaty palms.

"This isn't real!" the second Krystal waved around them, still walking towards him. "She's been toying with you ever since you got out of that preservation tank!"

"Preservation tank?" Fox's back hit the wall, nowhere left to run. "What are you talking about?"

"The Anglar simulation! Don't you remember?" She pushed forwards, stopping just shy of the gem at the end of the staff. Even with it pointed at her throat, she didn't seem to care. "The Queen transferred her consciousness into my mind. That's why I got pulled out of the sim. She's been talking to you all this time, not me!"

Fox felt like a cornered animal as she edged ever so closer. He growled, eyes narrowed, tail arched behind him, warning her to keep her distance. Instead, she reached out, trying to grab onto the staff. That crossed a line.

" _Stay back!_ " Fox shouted, thrusting the weapon's tip towards her as he took a deft step forwards.

Surprised by the move, she slipped on the rain-slicked stone, falling backwards onto the floor. Fox stood over her, keeping the staff directed in the general direction of her chest.

"I don't know anything about Aparoids, a queen, a tank, a sim, or whatever!" he snarled, showing his sharp fangs, while his tail bristled and thrashed behind him. "And I sure as hell don't know you, wherever you came from!"

"Fox! You have to listen to me, or we'll all be assimilated!" she pleaded with him, crawling backwards along the stone as he pursued her. "Everything will have been for nothing!"

Assimilation? Fox blinked. Why did that sound familiar too?

"Don't listen to her!" the first Krystal called out. Fox looked to see her walking over to join the two of them. She stared at the other Krystal with fire in her eyes, before glancing over to him. "This is more sorcery on General Scales' part. Kill her now before she kills you!"

Fox cast an aside glance to the first Krystal. She could be right. He'd done the Test of Fear earlier to get one of the Krazoa Spirits. It felt so real. While he stood in the test chamber, predatory dinosaurs jumped out from behind the columns and ran past him. Their musk stung his nose and the wind currents from their movements tingled his fur. And General Scales himself appeared too. He came out of nowhere, almost invisible to the naked eye until he was right in front of Fox, suddenly towering three stories over the vulpine. The giant dinosaur lifted him off the ground, eyeing him with those slit eyes. Then the general opened his mouth, showing off his sharp fangs right before he decided to snack on Fox's head... Thankfully that was the end of the test. General Scales vanished, revealing the testing room as empty the entire time.

Back in the present, the vulpine glanced between the two Krystals again. Was this another illusion test like that one? But if so, what was he supposed to do? Should he kill one of them? Even if he was supposed to, he had no idea how he could get himself to do it. The idea of running one of them through with this staff made him want to throw up.

"What are you waiting for, Fox?!" the first Krystal shouted at him, pointing at the Krystal on her knees. "We'll all die if you don't kill her!"

"Don't listen to her!" the second Krystal jumped to her feet, pointing back. "You're playing right into her hands!"

The staff quivered in Fox's hands, his breath coming in small, rapid gasps. Who should he trust? They stared straight into his own emerald eyes, beckoning him to decide. Paralyzed by the impossible choice before him, Fox lowered the weapon, letting the tip rest on the floor. What should he do?

"Son…" Fox looked behind the two Krystals to see his father approaching, his face hard to read behind the aviators. He'd forgotten Dad was here. Arms folded and off to the side, the elder vulpine glanced between the two vixens, silent for several seconds. "The one who told you about the Aparoids…" Dad looked him in the eye, his face like stone. "Kill her."

Fox froze, the color draining from his face as he heard those words. He always trusted his father's word one hundred percent. His old man never once lied to him or led him astray about anything across his entire life. Eight years ago Dad led Star Fox across the Lylat System, their team almost singlehandedly destroying Venom and Andross. They couldn't have done it without complete trust in his father's leadership. So why did he hesitate now? Why couldn't he carry out this one order when his father ordered to kill so many more during the Lylat Wars? Fox clenched the staff in his hands so hard his claws dug into his palms.

"Look closer." James pointed at the second Krystal, as if sensing Fox's doubt. "It's a clever disguise. You've used it yourself."

Fox looked again, realizing what his father was talking about. As the rain pattered across her body, the water droplets curved around her. It left an odd outline around her form, looking almost like an invisible—

"Sharpclaw…" Fox's eyes widened.

"That's right." James smiled. "You see it now."

The watery, invisible silhouette conveyed the form of a Shaprclaw flawlessly. The snout, the helmet, the reptilian tail, the claws on their feet… He recognized it now. Why didn't he see it before? Earlier in the mission the Sharpclaw captured him, and Slippy sent him a hologram program to disguise himself as one of them. He used it to slip out of their prison.

So now they'd gotten hold of the program and reverse engineered it to imitate Krystal's appearance. The fake Krystal glanced around at the others, looking scared and confused. Her fluffy tail twitched behind her, uncertainty crossing her face. This Sharpclaw was a good actor and the disguise almost perfect, but that wasn't going to save her now.

"Sneaky bitch, pretending to be her…" Fox narrowed his eyes, flipping the staff to point at the fake Krystal. "You're the lowest of the low, you coward."

"No Fox! Don't listen to them!" She pleaded, backing away from him. "He's not your father! The Queen's using your memories to—"

"Quiet!" Fox shot a fireball from the staff.

She flattened herself to the floor to dodge it, the movement instantaneous. Springing back up again, her body settled into a loose, flexible fighting stance, arms and legs held slightly apart.

Even though Fox felt enraged at almost being tricked, the move impressed him. "Nice dodge, but let's see how long you can keep that up."

"She's got you completely under her spell, doesn't she?" Instead of fear, now Fox saw anger in the fake Krystal's eyes, turning towards her doppelgänger. If looks could kill, the first Krystal would be a pile of ash now. "Fine then. I suppose it's unavoidable." Turning back to him, she held out a hand and beckoned him to attack.

Growling, the vulpine closed in on the fake Krystal, taking each step one at a time as he brandished the staff. Fox thought this coward would turn and run once she'd been outed, but instead the imitator watched his movements as closely as he watched her. For someone hiding behind a disguise, this faker looked incredibly brave and focused. He had to give credit for that, but she needed to be dealt with all the same.

Putting on a sudden burst of speed, Fox charged, boots splashing in the puddles underfoot. He swung the staff overhead, bringing it down a hard strike to the head. She stood there, a blank look on her face. He thought for sure he would connect, but she sidestepped at the last second, looking almost casual as she did it. Nonetheless, he kept up the attack, turning the overhead strike into a sideways swing across the midsection. She leaped backwards and landed, using the rain slicked stone to slide back out of danger.

Fox pursued, thrusting the staff straight for her chest. She slipped sideways again, but this time the fake Krystal snatched the shaft in mid thrust. Before Fox could counter, she put her other hand around it, giving him a swift kick right in the gentleman's area. An explosion of pain radiated from his loins straight to the tips of his ears. Dropping his weapon, he couldn't see anything for a few moments as he clutched at his manhood, the entire temple roof around him a swirl of blurred greens and blues mixed with running water. After he recovered, he looked over at the fake Krystal, standing there with his staff. She looked at it, whipping it around in an elaborate twirl as if she'd trained every day of her life with it.

"Sorry Fox," she apologized, returning her attention to him. "But you're not making this easy."

"Yeah?" He panted, going into a fighting stance, hands held before him in open palms. He did his best to look like he was standing firm, but his legs trembled from the pain. "If it's too easy I'm not fighting hard enough. I'm going to kill you, faker."

"I don't blame you for falling for all this." Krystal circled her opponent, the staff held in his direction. "It must look incredibly convincing to you."

"You're lucky General Pepper didn't let us bring blasters on this mission." Fox growled, looking for a way to attack, circling around as she did. However, he couldn't see an opening while she held that staff in such a strong defensive stance.

The fake Krystal sighed, looking more annoyed than anything about how he responded. "Fox, your father owns a red sports car? A Manta, you call it?"

The vulpine blinked. It felt like such a random thing to say, and yet she'd gotten the color and model of his car spot on. "How do you know that?"

"I know a lot more Fox, and I'm hoping some of it eventually gets through to you."

"You're trying to mess with my head. I'm not buying your bullshit!" The vulpine charged her. Again she slid aside as if simply gliding over the floor, the staff smacking the back of Fox's head as he flew past. Stars blasted through his vision, the extra momentum almost causing him to crash face first into the stone floor. Falling to his hands, he awkwardly climbed back to his feet, turning to face her again. His tail thrashed around behind him, eyes laser focused on her.

"I never thought I'd be switching places with you like this." She twirled the staff again, like this fight was nothing but a mere practice spar. "Not long ago you were trying to convince _me_ the world around us wasn't real. You told us your father never owned a sports car. Remember the trick question you used on Lucy?"

Lucy… Why did that name sound familiar? And was she right? Before they left for Sauria, he and his father rode in that car to the space port. He remembered it. So why did it feel wrong for his father to own that car?

"Don't listen to her Fox!" James called out. "Kill her!"

His father was right. She wanted to distract him so he'd be an easier kill. Fox readied for another charge, but the fake Krystal did something he never expected.

"Here, try again." She sighed, tossing the staff towards him, the elegant weapon clattering across the floor to stop at his feet.

Fox's ears peeled back, insulted by the gesture. It felt especially painful while Krystal and his father watched. Even so, this was a fight to the death, so he brushed aside his feelings and collected his weapon once more. Readying it, he decided to stay back and observe for the moment in case this was some sort of trick.

All the while, she kept spouting off things that sounded like nonsense and yet they seemed to awaken long lost memories within him.

"I can sense it within you Fox. You want to believe this is all real. With everything that's happened to you, I don't blame you. You were trapped in that simulation for ten years. You've been chased by Aparoids. You saw Corneria assimilated by them in that nightmare. You have no idea what to believe or who to trust, not even your own teammates and friends on the hospital ship." The fake Krystal pointed at her doppelgänger off to the side, the first Krystal's eyes almost burning with aquamarine fire. "She's using it all against you. Doesn't this place feel a little _too_ perfect? Doesn't your father still being here feel wrong? He's supposed to be dead, right?"

One of Fox's eyes twitched. "Shut up! My father is not dead!"

But even as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help but think about the things she said. A computer simulation for a prison. Aparoids. Corneria assimilated. A hospital ship. Each item sounded random and absurd and yet somewhere in the back of his mind he felt like he should know all of that stuff. Why? It felt like echoes of memories from a past life.

Fox turned to his father, only to see he wasn't there anymore. "Dad?" Fox looked around the rooftop. He'd been there only a second ago, and there was no way he had enough time to get out of sight. The rooftop spread out too far and wide for that. "Where are you?"

"Fox, what are you doing?" The first Krystal shouted. "This is a trick by General Scales! Hurry up and kill her!"

But he wasn't listening to her anymore. He glanced back to the Krystal he was fighting, now in curiosity rather than anger. He lowered the staff, holding it at his side. She approached him, yet Fox didn't bother to raise his weapon. With her being this close, he could see the rain flowed directly across her blue fur, making little rivulets and wicking the individual hairs together into small blades. The Sharpclaw silhouette around her was gone like it hadn't been there. It never was. He'd only imagined it.

She smiled at him. "It's coming back now, isn't it?"

Fox gave a faint nod, looking into the sky. The ever present rain and thunder died down, the palace roof settling into an eerie quiet as the storm clouds withdrew. A starry night sky and a full moon appeared, the moon bathing them in platinum light. As the sky cleared, Fox's mind cleared as well, almost in sync with the clouds vanishing. Things that he didn't understand or rejected before took on shape and clarity. Dad never owned a sports car. His father died before the Lylat Wars. They'd been captives of the Aparoid Queen. And the last place he remembered before this was the hospital ship and falling asleep.

Fox turned his attention to the Krystal who'd been urging him to kill the other one. Except now she wasn't Krystal's twin any longer. As he watched, the cerulean hue of her fur changed, transforming from blue into a violet hue. The violet matched the color he saw throughout the Aparoid Homeworld. Dark indigo replaced the aquamarine hue of her eyes, no shine or sparkle coming near them. Each eye looked like a dark, bottomless pit.

"You were right, Krystal." Fox pointed the staff at her. "She's the Queen."

"So you finally see now?" Krystal smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder. "That's how she always looked to me."

The Queen stared at her violet hands and arms in disbelief. Surprise gave way to anger, her eyes hardening as she turned to Fox and Krystal. Those black pits for eyes felt like they bored straight into him, the vulpine thinking he could see endless darkness as he looked into them.

"You…" The Queen's voice took on a rasping, reptilian sound. She directed her attention towards Krystal, snarling. "I thought I'd buried you deep where you could never come back."

"You're not used to living in a mortal's body and mind, are you?" She smirked, folding her arms. "Plus, I know my own mind a lot better than you do. You got sloppy. You, an almighty immortal creature of supposedly infinite wisdom, made a careless mistake. How does it feel?"

"Laugh while you can, little one," the Queen snarled back, in her old hag-like voice. "This won't change anything."

"Change anything?" Fox narrowed his eyes. "What is this place anyway? Is this another of your simulations?"

"No Fox," Krystal interrupted, shaking her head. "We're inside your dreams. You built this place yourself." She waved a hand at the ancient stones around them, and the clear night sky.

Fox gazed around. If what Krystal said was true, he felt awed by the surroundings. Seeing the Great Fox built, fighting in the Lylat Wars, Dad building Star Fox into an armada, and now this… He felt as though he'd lived this entire part of his life all over again for what felt like actual years. And all of this was merely from his own memories and imagination? Fox examined the staff in his hands, feeling the metallic texture and examining the ornate decorations on each end. He'd never seen such a realistic dream before.

"But if I'm asleep, where am I?" He asked Krystal.

"We're still on board the hospital ship, sleeping next to each other."

The hospital ship? That felt like ages ago. "So why are the two of you here?"

"She used my telepathy to enter your dream, like I did." Krystal glared at her violet counterpart. "We are merely visitors here."

"But why? What's the reason for all of this?"

"In your culture," the Queen interrupted, folding her arms together, "isn't it rude to speak about someone present as though they aren't there? I've collected that information from the minds of numerous Lylatians."

Fox shot her a death glare. "I think politeness goes out the window when that certain someone wants to turn every living thing in the universe into a cybernetic bug."

The Queen chuckled, her laugh sounding more like a dying woman's cough. "Anyway, there's no need for Krystal to tell you everything. I'll do it myself." Clearing her throat, she gestured to their surroundings. "I'll admit most of this is your doing, but I did add a few of my own touches, like your father."

Upon mentioning that, something took shape next to the Queen. Fox's father faded into view, taking on a translucent quality like a hologram. Dad stood there as still and silent as a statue.

"So Fox, did you enjoy seeing him again?" The Queen stepped in front of James, the elder vulpine vanishing as quickly as he appeared. She gave a dark smile to Fox.

Fox hated to admit it, but this dream did feel incredible. He'd _loved_ fighting alongside his dad and watching Star Fox grow into something more successful than he could have ever dreamed of. And yet knowing he enjoyed all of this also infuriated him, since the Queen was lurking behind all of it. He clenched his teeth together, glaring straight into her dark eyes.

"You don't even need to say anything, Fox." The Queen put on a wicked grin. "With the ten years I've studied you, I don't need telepathy to read your thoughts."

He felt naked before her, as she read him like a book. He wouldn't admit it, but she was right. She grinned at him, delighting in his torment.

"So why are you even doing all this?" He waved around the temple. "What's the point?"

"It's a reward."

Fox blinked, tilting his head. He never expected her to say something like that. "Huh?"

"Out of everyone who has challenged me and failed, you and your friends came the closest to defeating me. I wanted to know how this happened…and how I could keep it from happening again in the future. So after I captured you, I absorbed all of your thoughts, memories, and emotions from your minds, and I used them to build the Anglar Simulation."

Fox's skin crawled. He imagined the Queen peeling open his skull like a can of food and sucking everything out of his brain. Nonetheless, he held his composure.

"So you kept us in there for so long, repeating it over and over again, trying to get more data?"

"Correct. All memories of each run were supposed to be wiped clean every time the simulation began again. But you surprised me when you clung stubbornly to yours. I admit I find your continued resistance fascinating, even if it's ultimately pointless."

In spite of the backhanded compliment, Fox couldn't help but smirk. "You should know why if you've gone through my brain. My father may not be here anymore, but he told me to never give up."

"Good, good. That's what I enjoy about watching you. It's more entertaining this way." The Queen returned the smile. "You've impressed me enough to build you and Krystal a new simulation… Except this one will be designed to have anything your heart desires in it. What you have seen in this dream is merely a small taste of what I am capable of providing you."

 _Another_ simulation? Another one?! Fox's hands clenched around the staff, lips pulled back in a snarl. "I've spent the past ten years trying to get out of your sim! You're insane if you think I'll willingly go into another one!"

"I can wipe your memory to where you remember nothing but this place," the Queen gestured to the temple around them, undeterred by his harsh words. "As far as your mind will be concerned, it _will_ be real."

"Yeah, and those memory wipes worked _so well_ when you put me in the Anglar simulation." Fox rolled his eyes. "Besides, there's got to be a catch. Even if you keep your word, what are you going to do after you put us in there?"

"Does that matter?" The Queen chuckled, that coughing laugh again. "I'm giving you everything you've ever wanted and—"

"Would you answer the damn question please?" Fox hissed through clenched teeth, pointing the staff's tip at the Queen's neck.

The Queen kept smiling away, Fox's blood boiling at her casual indifference. Even so, the violet vixen didn't budge an inch as he threatened her with the staff. It reminded him of how an older sibling might hold a favorite toy out of reach of a younger, shorter sibling for no reason but the fun of it.

From behind, Krystal's hand landed on Fox's shoulder. Her touch was like a cool breeze coursing through his body, soothing the burning anger within him and calming it. Turning around, he noticed her ears pulled back, her eyes downcast.

"You're wasting your time with her." The edges of her mouth tugged as if she wanted to say something but couldn't get it out. Fox waited, giving her encouragement to speak. She gave a small smile back, although her eyes started to water.

"There's a reason she never assimilated us, even though she could have done it any time she wanted." She paused again, the words hanging in the air.

The Queen gave a small chuckle behind Fox, Krystal giving her a dark glare through the tears. Gathering her strength, she finally said it.

"We… We're infected with a new strain of the Aparoid virus."

"What?" Fox's eyes widened. "But they ran those tests on us and everything on the hospital ship. We came back clean."

Krystal shook her head. "The Queen created a new strain undetectable to Corneria's tests. After infection, it takes control of your mind instead of changing you on the outside. She takes control of you after that. We've already spread it to anyone we've come in contact with. Star Wolf, the hospital staff, Bill…"

A chill ran down Fox's back as Krystal explained it all. Heart beating, he glanced over to the Queen. A predatory grin crossed her face, showing off her sharp teeth. And was it his imagination, or did her mouth look unnaturally large and her fangs too long? He could almost see them stretching wider apart just watching them. Most of his head could fit in her mouth.

Krystal sniffled next to him, Fox turning back to her. "There's an implant in my brain she's controlling me with. I tried everything I could to take back my body, or at least find a way to talk to you." A tear ran down her face. "But I couldn't do it, not till now at least. I'm so sorry." She collapsed into his shoulder, the tears flowing in earnest now. "I should have tried harder…."

Fox wrapped an arm round her back, patting her. He pulled her into a hug, Krystal returning the favor. "It's okay, Krys. It's okay." They embraced, letting each other's warmth mingle in the chilly night surrounding them. It felt like back in the Anglar sim when she finally realized it was all fake, the memory a bright spot in his recent memories despite all the things that had happened.

"Well Fox…" The Queen's reptilian, guttural voice sliced through the silence like nails on a chalkboard. "How about I tell you the rest since she's gone that far?"

Eyes narrowing, Fox turned to face the Queen again, still standing there with that smug look on her face. He let go of Krystal, facing the violet vixen once again with the staff in hand.

"Why are you so happy?" He pointed the staff at her. "I know your plan now. What's stopping me from waking up right now and telling everyone on the ship about it?"

"You think I didn't plan for this? I've got an implant in your brain too, Fox. There wasn't a need for me to use it…at least until she tried to interfere." She smirked at Krystal. "So if you experience any discomfort beyond this point, remember it's her fault."

Fox went into a combat stance, the staff pointed in the Queen's general direction. She looked amused by the gesture. He charged forward, swinging the shaft as he went. The violet vixen jumped and weaved around his strikes, dodging them all as if she were doing a dance.

"Are you trying to fight me or entertain me, little one?"

Realizing he was swinging the staff around carelessly, Fox ceased his attack, observing the Queen's movements closer. She appeared to glide across the floor. He readied for another strike, but then he had an epiphany.

If this was his dream, that explained many things. The Great Fox shook when he was scared of his father, back when he was in the teen part of the dream. That wasn't space debris. It was from him getting scared, the world around him responding to his emotions. Dad vanished once he remembered his father was dead, and the Sharpclaw silhouette vanished around Krystal once he realized it was a lie. The storm clouds cleared on their own in seconds earlier too.

Fox looked at the sky, the stars and moon shining on him. If he thought about the storm, would it— The storm clouds returned, covering the sky in mere seconds. Rain poured down again, soaking his clothes and chilling him to the bone. Fox wished to be warm again and the water rolled right off, his fur and clothes turning dry once more. The droplets falling from the sky curved around him, splashing on the stones in a surrounding circle. He looked over at the Queen, and then the staff. If he could do those things, why was he bothering to fight her this way?

A huge grin crossed Fox's face as he held out the staff towards the Queen. Except it wasn't a staff anymore. With only his imagination, he'd transformed it into a handheld laser minigun, the barrels spinning up as he aimed the weapon. His target gasped, turning to run as the spooling sound accelerated into a noise like a screaming jet engine. He squeezed the trigger, a stream of bright red laser blasts bathing the entire temple rooftop in a crimson hue. She toppled over, collapsing to the stone floor even as the gun tore chunks clean off of her. The vulpine hosed her down while she was on the floor just to be on the safe side. After several more seconds of sustained fire, he slid his finger off the trigger, the minigun slowing to a stop.

It was time to get a good look at the trophy he'd bagged, although he suspected there wouldn't be much left to mount on the wall. The violet vixen's corpse laid there, covered with holes big enough to stick his arm completely through the body. Chunks of her flesh lay scattered across the stones, purple smoke drifting away from the remains rather than blood spilling out. The vulpine grinned at his handiwork.

But as he did so, the pieces wormed their way back to the main body, plugging the holes. The Queen rose from the floor, facing away from him and moving like invisible puppet strings pulled her back into a stand. The flesh on her back sewed itself together again, the damage repaired in seconds. She looked at him over her shoulder, giving Fox a grin even though parts of her jaws and face were missing, showing nothing but dark pits where flesh should have been. Her face reconstructed itself as she turned to face him, looking good as new in no time.

Ears peeling back in frustration, Fox decided he'd try something more drastic. He dropped the minigun to the floor, letting it clatter on the ground. Free of the weapon's weight, he turned his concentration to the Krazoa Palace itself. The stone tiles shook underfoot, the bricks on the walls clattering together like an earthquake rocked the structure. The pieces ripped themselves free, flying through the air and creating a floating meteor shower of debris. With a wave of Fox's hand, the bricks flew straight towards the Queen, slamming into her, piling onto her body and forming a sphere of stone and rock. As the pile grew, the larger pieces broke apart into gravel, the better to assume a more compact shape around her as more of the palace's structure added to the giant mass. Fox raised his hand, the rapidly growing pile of rock ascending upwards. It had reached the size of a house now, growing larger by the second.

Crushing her to death was all well and good, but Fox decided he needed to add something a little bit extra. What though? He looked at the sky, the clouds parting to give him a view of the stars again. The stars… That gave him an idea.

He commanded the sphere to fly higher, far off into the sky. Tensing his legs, Fox jumped off the ground after the rocky mass, flying away as though he were some kind of superhero. Up into the vacuum of space they went, accelerating to light speed as he raced after the pile. As they went, he looked around, marveling as the planets, meteorites, and comets flew past him. Sure, going into outer space was part of his job, but never in his life did he think he'd be flying through it with no spaceship and no suit.

Doing all of this, he felt like a god! However, he didn't quite feel the part. Didn't beings of overwhelming power usually glow? But wait, this was his dream. Why not make that happen too? As they flew along, he lighted his fur a bright blazing orange, his entire body glowing like an intense burning fire. He smiled, feeling the warmth as he looked at his blazing hands.

Soon they arrived at Sauria's sun, the star close enough to fill his entire vision. Of course, having attained godhood now, the heat level merely felt like a warm spring day to him. With another wave of his hands, he sent the sphere of rock spiraling towards the star. It flew straight into the molten, blinding mass, disappearing into the light. Even so, Fox could sense the rocks melting, the Queen dissolving along with them. Surely even she couldn't survive this. He waited, observing the sun with his arms folded, hovering there in the otherwise inky blackness of space. After several minutes, he figured that was good enough. She was gone now.

"Did you enjoy that?" That raspy voice sounded right into his ear.

Fox spun around, finding himself face to face with the smiling Queen, that crazy large mouth full of tall, sharp teeth right in front of him. Heart racing, he looked into her soulless dark eyes, the twin abysses so deep he felt like he would fall right into them if he stared too long. Regaining his composure, he clenched his fists, staring down the Queen again. What would he do this time? Maybe he could try—

"Do whatever you like to me Fox." The Queen crossed her arms, looking smug. "This is nothing but my avatar in your dream. Even if you could kill me here, it means about as much as defeating the villain in one of your video games. But I don't need to explain that with how many times you've oh so heroically defeated the Anglars." She chuckled.

Fox didn't want to admit it, but she was right. No matter what he could do in here, it meant nothing in the real world, just like the Anglar Simulation. Didn't matter how many times he saved the world if it was all virtual, right? What the hell would he do now?

"Come now though." She floated over towards him. "You look like you're having fun. I like what you did with your fur."

Fox's ears folded back in embarrassment, as he switched off the glow.

"Don't be shy." She smirked, shaking her head. "I like seeing you this way, and I can give you this power forever if you wish. You can become a god, and rule over all of this…"

She waved her hand at the stars and planets around them, Fox's eyes following her hand as he took it all in. He could see for eternity. Black holes, supernovae, nebulae, planets, systems, galaxies, the entire universe. It was all there, right in front of him, his eyes beholding all of it. Millions of civilizations populated the universe, each filled by billions of sentient beings, ranging from bizarre plant aliens to rock creatures to split-lip bipedal reptiles to hairless apes. Corneria's space explorations beyond the Lylat System had only scratched the surface of all this, but now he could see it all at the same time! He laughed as he observed it all. The Queen smirked, putting her hands on his shoulders.

But then Fox went quiet, his eyes turning downcast. He'd lost control of himself for a moment there. That could have been a fatal mistake.

"No." Fox sighed as he brushed aside the Queen's touch. "It's not real. You said it yourself. What I can do here doesn't matter at all in reality."

"Are you sure you want to go back to reality Fox?"

"Of course!" Fox glared at her. "It's what I've wanted all of this time. I'm tired of all these fake simulations, or dreams, or dimensions, or whatever you want to call them."

"But think about what reality has given you, and what the future holds there. Both your parents died when you were in your teens, killed by that madman Andross. You were celebrated as the hero of Lylat after you defeated him, but afterwards your team fell apart, the money no longer flowing with Lylat at peace. And your real body is frail and weak now. For your remaining days, you'll never be as strong or as fit as you used to be. Lylat has been laid to waste by me, Corneria another one of my captured worlds. Even if you defeated me, it would take generations for Lylat to be restored to its former state. You won't live to see that day. I have all the data I need on you to verify that."

Fox tightened his fists. She was right. While he had saved Lylat multiple times and felt proud of everything he'd done, sometimes he wished he could switch lives with someone else, like the other kids back in grade school. They didn't have to deal with his loss and heartache. They didn't grow up without parents. Mom, Dad, and the kids got to sit around the table together for dinner each night. Fox felt jealous every time one of his friends invited him over. It was a mundane and boring existence compared to his actual life, but whenever he remembered his parents sometimes he wished things could have been that way instead.

"Well, if it is not godhood you wish for…" she suggested, floating in a manner to catch his downcast eyes, "I can arrange for something more suitable to your tastes."

Fox caught his breath.

"Aha…!" she purred. "I see what you desire most of all."

The dark vacuum transformed. Freezing emptiness gave way to warm grass and soft flowers. A soft wind tickled his ears and moonlight shone about him, a starry night sky overhead. Fox reluctantly lifted his head. They stood in the middle of a peaceful neighborhood of suburban homes, the kind of which he had not lived in since he was a child. A two-story brick home stood behind the smiling Queen, warm light coming out of it. Through the large picture window in front he could see figures moving about inside, colorful confetti flying in the air.

Fox moved past the Queen, stepping onto the porch. As he looked in through the glass, he saw a copy of himself inside, looking like the happiest man in the galaxy. Krystal stood beside him, carrying a tray with a chocolate cake to the table. There was Marcus, two years old, sitting attentively still but his eyes gleamed with delight.

"I can even bring back your beloved parents," the Queen whispered beside him, her breath stirring his fur. She pointed. "Look."

A door opened and in stepped James and Vixy McCloud. James still wore his aviators and leather jacket despite being indoors, but Vixy looked radiant in a white, knee-length dress. She bent down, arms wide, as her grandson abandoned the table and ran to her. James laughed as he clapped Fox's copy on the back and flashed Krystal a toothy grin. His copy was also laughing, pulling his father into a hug, as if the heartbreak and loss had never happened.

"All of this could be yours, Fox, if you would learn to let go."

He turned away from the scene, shaking his head. "No."

"But—I… I don't understand." She gestured to the home again; Vixy settled Marcus back into his chair, James dimming the lights while Krystal lit the candles. "I've given you everything you could possibly want. Why do you turn away?"

He stepped off the porch and went into the yard. Sensing her approach Fox answered. "You don't get it, do you? You don't understand how precious life can be, how fleeting and brief. You are immortal, so time has no meaning to you. I'm not you. I can never be you."

Fox turned to face her; the Queen was half on, half off the porch, a look of confused annoyance upon her dark features.

"Your mindwipes? Why they could never work? Well, let me tell you something, Queenie. My mind was never built for reliving a single part of my life over and over. And that is because I refused to accept your reality. I could see through it all. You've given me ten thousand, four hundred and sixty-three lives, counting this one too. And I know why you did it. You reran me through them all because you needed to know how I functioned, how I could resist you.

"Well, it didn't work. You grew obsessed with figuring me out. You forced me into that simulation, kept me there. Did you not think some of my memories would remain? My mind is not one of your computers. I figured it all out, probably around the five hundredth simulation or so. You wanted to know how to break me. That is why you ran the Anglar simulation—you had all of the perfect ingredients right there."

"And this is your great secret?" She laughed. "Has my ten thousandth six hundred sixty third simulation worked? This dream I gave you?"

Fox nodded. "Yes, if it wasn't for Krystal you would have got me. But you forgot one thing." He pointed at himself. "You could never know what life is like for one person—you don't even know yourself."

"And what difference does it make? I control trillions. _You_ are but one. Why do you believe you have outwitted _me_?"

"Look at your data, Queenie. It's all there. You've misinterpreted it. Too late, I'll add."

"Tell me, if you are so smart as to have figured it all out."

"Nothing you will ever make for me can amount to anything. It is all illusion. It is not, and never has been, reality. And the reality is…" He paused, and looked up on a hunch. A shaft of light beamed down from the night sky, illuminating where they stood. "I only have one life to live, and so do you."

"Well," she hissed. "I'm so sorry I have been in error where you were concerned. If you will not accept my gift, I can always make you into a mindless, obedient drone where none of this will matter. Is that what you want?"

Fox looked at her, a grin forming on his face. "Not at all—because I don't plan on sticking around."

The Queen laughed at him. "And how will you get out of here? That's impossible with me controlling your body."

"Just look up." Fox pointed straight up into the white light pouring down from the sky upon them. Starting at the point where the spotlight shone down, a glowing white line formed, small at first but soon growing across the entire expanse of the night sky, as far as the eye could see. The line became wider as well, turning more rounded, as though two halves of a gigantic dome opened above them to allow in light. As the dome parted, the ceiling of the hospital room appeared overhead. The smile melted off the Queen's face as she realized what she was looking at. She snarled, her eyes razor sharp and focused.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Fox grinned at her, tail wagging behind him. "You not having fun anymore? I thought you liked me being happy."

"Stop that!" she charged him, one of her hands held open with sharp claws tipping each finger.

Fox held out an open palm, stopping her right in her tracks as he created an invisible barrier between the two of them. She pounded on it with her fists, scratching at it with her claws, but it was to no avail.

"You look so adorable doing that." Fox grinned as he stuck out his tongue and gave her the finger.

"This can't! Be! Possible!" she kept smashing fist after fist into the barrier.

Fox laughed out loud. "Sure, keep telling yourself that." Fox raised a hand. "Good morning Queenie. Time to wake up."

Fox snapped his fingers, a white light enveloping them both.

~X~

The light faded, the hospital room coming back into focus. Fox laid in his bed, seeing the plain white ceiling above him. He was back here again! It worked! Grinning, he threw aside the sheets, sliding out of the bed. And then he remembered he still had a broken leg, stumbling to the floor as an electric bolt of raw pain shot up front his foot. At the last second, Fox grabbed the bed, narrowly avoiding falling flat on the floor.

As he laid across the mattress, he saw Krystal getting out of her own bed. Or more accurately, Krystal possessed by the Aparoid Queen. She looked around the room, mouth agape as she realized where they were.

Astonishment turned to rage as her eyes found Fox's. "I don't know how you did this, but you won't stop me!" She turned around, swiping a knife off of the dinner tray next to her bed, brandishing it as she threw aside her sheets.

Fox hobbled for the exit as fast as he could. It was only a handful of steps to the door into the hallway, but it felt like half a mile on this broken leg. Sparing a glance back, he saw the Queen almost on him, pursuing with the knife in hand. She thrust the blade forward, aiming to stab him in the back. Fox leaned out of the way, catching her knife arm and punching her in the face. She stumbled backwards, the weapon clattering to the floor.

"It's not the same as your fake worlds, is it?" Fox laughed, leaning against the wall next to the door. "Still not used to being mortal, huh?"

Queen Krystal put a hand to her face, feeling blood leaking out of her nose. She lunged at him. He flung the exit door open, slamming it right into her as she bum rushed him. Crying out, she found herself pinned between the wall and the door for a moment. Fox took the chance to get out into the corridor.

Rachel came running down the hallway, looking amazed at the scene before her. "Fox! What are you doing? "

"Listen to me Rachel!" Fox hobbled towards her. "That's not Krystal. That's the Queen. You need to do another test on her and—"

"Shut up!" The Queen jumped out into the hall, the knife flashing in her hand.

Rachel gasped, getting between her two patients and holding them at bay with her hands. "What are you two doing?!"

"Fox has gone crazy!" The Queen pointed the knife at him. "He attacked me!"

"What?!" Rachel spun around. With the expression on her face, the lenses in her goggles almost looked like they expanded in surprise.

"She's got an Aparoid implant in her brain!" Fox pointed back at the possessed Krystal. "The Aparoid Queen's controlling her through it! You have to take it out!"

Rachel glanced back and forth between them, the two holding their positions. Confused nurses, doctors, and other personnel filed into the hallway, trying to see what all the commotion was. Fox could see Wolf, Leon, and Panther coming from one end. Bill approached from the other direction. Rachel for her part looked terrified, having no idea what to do as the crowd gathered.

"It's true!" Fox shouted to everyone around him. "Krystal is possessed! You have to believe me!"

"Don't worry Fox, I believe you…" A thin smile crossed Rachel's face.

"You do?"

"We all know it's true." Her voice came across as icy cold. Rachel's showed off her cute little fangs as her grin widened. But Fox sensed malice behind it, like this was some kind of cruel joke.

Around him, everybody else in the hallway observed the scene, deathly silent and still. Falco, Slippy, and Peppy rolled up in their wheelchairs next to Bill, the same blank on their faces. The Star Wolf members blocked the hall's other direction, their faces neutral. Doctors, nurses, and other personnel filled in the gaps, a crowd on either side trapping him. Everyone stared straight at Fox, watching him in silence. He was too late, realizing it as he felt the color drain from his face. The Queen smiled as she watched everyone press in.

Star Wolf started approaching from one side of the corridor, Bill and the soldiers approaching from the other, everyone looking like silent zombies as they closed in. Fox searched frantically, looking for a way he could get out of this. He couldn't fight them, and he couldn't run either. What could he do?

His eyes landed on a nearby door. Not having any other options, he jumped towards it. As he pushed down the handle, Fox almost fell to the floor as the door opened inwards. He grabbed for a nearby rack of cleaning supplies to steady himself, slamming the door behind him and locking it. To buy himself some more time, he grunted as he pushed over the shelf, bottles of cleaning solution and rolls of paper towels falling to the floor as the rack crashed down, barring the door. But looking around, Fox realized he'd trapped himself again. This was a supply closet; he had no way out except for the door he'd entered through. The barricade would hold them off for the moment, but Fox felt like he was only delaying the inevitable.

He took a second look around, spotting a vent on the far wall near the ceiling. It looked large enough for him to crawl inside. Finding a foot stool nearby, he pushed it underneath the vent. As he scrambled to rip the vent cover off, loud banging resounded through the door behind him. The slams and hits paused for a moment, but then a laser bolt blew out the lock, the shot bouncing around the room. Fox flinched as it hit the wall next to him. Three more laser shots followed the first, blowing off the door hinges on the other side.

Someone outside ripped the door out of its frame. As the door got moved aside, Fox saw Wolf's face there, the elder lupine's scarred and eyepatched face looking like something from a nightmare with that emotionless look. Bill stepped next to Wolf, the two of them pushing aside the overturned shelf. They stepped away from the door, letting the Queen walk into the room. Wolf withdrew a combat knife from a holster on his shoulder, handing it to her. She grinned as she accepted it.

Fox popped the vent cover off, struggling to get inside. But with how atrophied his muscles were, he didn't have the upper body strength to pull himself in. The Queen grabbed him by the tail, yanking him backwards. Fox cried out as he slammed hard into the tiled floor, the possessed vixen stepping over him and smiling in her triumph.

"It's a pity. I like having you around, even if you are a thorn in my side. Sadly Fox McCloud, you almost ruined my plans. I'm not taking any more chances."

Holding the back of his head, she stabbed the knife directly into his throat under the muzzle. Fox's cries turned into a gurgle, feeling the blood flowing from his neck and over his chest, his body turning cold…

~X~

Krystal watched, unable to do anything as Fox died before her, nothing but a prisoner inside her own body. She couldn't scream, look away, or even close her eyes. The Queen stood tall over her kill, Krystal forced to take in every little detail of the fresh corpse of her mate. She wanted to cry, but even that was impossible. The Queen held control of her body ever since she'd woken up in her own preservation tank on the Aparoid homeworld. She'd fought so hard trying to get her body back, but nothing she did worked.

Managing to finally get in touch with Fox lifted her spirits, but now she felt despair deeper than ever before, her hopes crushed. The Queen looked up from the body, smiling at the people Krystal met since arriving in Lylat. Peppy, Slippy, Falco, Bill, Star Wolf… All of them looked back silently, Krystal forced to make eye contact with the blank faces before her. These people, some of them so close to her she almost considered them family, had been reduced to nothing but mindless slaves. She wanted to do something, _anything_ besides see them like this.

Thankfully, the Queen's vision went black, leaving Krystal in darkness. But it only brought her the most fleeting of respite. What now? Was she doomed to be in this dark forever, never knowing what happened? She squeezed her fingers, feeling her claws dig into the flesh of her palms. The pricks hurt. Wait, did she do that herself? Willing it, she opened her hands and squeezed again, forming them into fists. Her tail twitched underneath her, brushing against bed sheets. She willed her eyes to open and they complied, a bright white light greeting her vision. A blur of orange came into focus through the light, Fox hovering over her and smiling. He held one of her hands, his paws warm to the touch.

"Krystal… You're back."

The ceiling of the hospital room came into focus. They were back here again. She started to sit up, but felt a splitting pain on the back of her head. Whimpering, she lowered her head back to the pillow.

"Ssssshhhh…" Fox put a hand over her. "Lie still. You've been through brain surgery."

What? Krystal reached behind her head, feeling a large bandage there. Fox moved her hand away.

"Don't touch that. It's still healing."

While the sharp pain was gone, a dull ache coursed through her head. She looked Fox in the face again.

"Uhm… What's going on?"

"You know that Aparoid implant in your brain you told me about? The doctors got done taking it out a little while ago. I've got mine out too now." Fox indicated the bandage on the back of his own head.

"But how? I saw you die in front of me!"

Fox smiled. "Oh that? Heh heh, my acting was pretty good, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the Queen talked about making my dreams a simulation, I got an idea." Fox sat on the bed next to her. "My dream was a kind of sim too, except I was the one in control. So I gave her a little taste of her own medicine. I changed the dream to make it look like I was waking up. She thought the implant in my head wasn't working anymore, so she released control of the implant and tried to kill me instead. Her mind ran with it, and my dream became her dream even after I woke up. Meanwhile, I told the staff what was happening and here we are." Fox waved around the room, grinning ear to ear. "Looks like it worked beautifully, huh?"

"You did all that?" Krystal blinked.

"I did, but I couldn't have done it without you. If you hadn't stepped in, I would have fallen right into the Queen's trap." He smiled at her again, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You did a great job, Krystal."

In spite of her injuries, she reached forward, pulling him into a hug. Fox gasped, being yanked as he was brought face to face with her. While surprised, he chuckled at their sudden closeness, their heat warming each other. He hugged her right back, being careful not to put his full weight on her. They sat there, neither of them knowing nor caring about how much time passed.

She noticed something on her bedside table though. Two clear plastic bags set there, each containing a small metallic device stained by blood.

"What are those?"

"Oh, these?" Fox reached over, holding out the baggies. "These are the implants that were in our heads." He smirked, putting them back on the nightstand. "No need to worry about them anymore."

Krystal's smile faded as she gazed at the two bags. Something lurked in the back of her mind. What was that? She hadn't noticed it before. It sounded like voices, and a lot of them. Quiet at first, but they rose in volume. She could see Fox's lips moving, but now she couldn't hear anything over all the noise coursing through her head, drowning out all of her other thoughts.

The hospital room faded from her sight, her head feeling like it was spinning. Visions flashed through her brain, each one more shocking than the last. She witnessed thousands of years of the Aparoids conquering system after system, absorbing everything they found along the way into the Collective, leaving long trails of more and more twisted Aparoid worlds. So many people dead, so many more transformed, entire civilizations and cultures erased from existence, replaced with nothing but more and more Aparoids. She saw the individual faces of _everyone_ who'd been absorbed, all of their memories and knowledge taken and collectivized into the Queen's hive mind. With that witch gone, all of that now rested inside her own mind, the knowledge and history of trillions of people compressed into her brain. Her mind wasn't built to handle this. It was like trying to fit an Earthwalker through the eye of a needle.

She screamed, rubbing her hands all over her head, as if trying to physically rub all of the knowledge away. Of course, she'd always been able to divine surface thoughts or feelings from those around her, but this scale, this many people… It felt like being in a gigantic stadium full of millions, yet all of them spoke directly into her mind at the same time. Too many, it was too many!

Fox grabbed onto her shoulders, pulling her in close. While she couldn't make out individual words, the sound of his voice cut through all of them, reassuring her and allowing her to focus again. She concentrated on it as much as she could, feeling like she was swimming towards a life raft in the middle of a stormy sea.

"….rystal…Krystal! Are you all right? What's wrong? Talk to me!"

Tears rolled down her face, her eyes still shut. "I'm sorry Fox. All those voices. All the people the Queen turned into Aparoids. I can hear all of them! I can see all of them!" She wrapped herself around him, pulling him in tight. "What am I going to do? All her knowledge and memories are in my head now! It's too much!"

"But you can hear me right?"

Krystal nodded. Fox switched to talking to her through telepathy.

_Then talk to me. Listen to my voice. I'll talk to you all night if that's what it takes._

Krystal cried again, burying her muzzle into his shoulder. He drew her in, stroking the fur on the back of her neck. She concentrated on the sensation of his hand. It felt so calming, so reassuring, to be back with her lover again. _Focus on him. His voice. His heartbeat. His touch. His warmth._ She repeated that in her mind again and again like a chant, using it to ward off all the other voices.

 _Are you feeling better now?_ Fox asked.

 _Yes…_ She pulled him in a little tighter. _But how am I going to live like this? How do I control these thoughts? As soon as I stop thinking about you, it all comes flooding back!_

_The Queen learned to live with it too, didn't she? Did she have that in her head?_

_She did but… I don't know. My mind's not like hers was. Hers was built to last forever, and mine is…_

"Hey, I'm here for you Krystal." The voice sounded like it was right in her ear, as opposed from mind to mind. "Think about something nice and relaxing. Like Sauria."

She opened her eyes. The two of them weren't in the hospital room anymore. Instead, they found themselves back on Sauria, standing in Thorntail Hollow. The colorful flowers and palm trees around the glade swayed in the wind, a gentle brook bubbling as it flowed past. Thorntail dinosaurs lazily walked about, grazing on the grass without a care in the world. Krystal looked around, astonished at the new surroundings. The late afternoon sun was starting to dip below the nearby hills, bathing the valley in orange.

Fox smiled, looking with her. "Looks like it worked. Now I'm in your head. You made this."

The realism was astonishing. She could almost feel the heat of the sun on her back, and the scent of all the flowers nearby. "This… This is like—"

"Like when we were in my head. I know." Fox gazed around the meadow, looking at the flowers. "Maybe the Queen did something to make our telepathic connection stronger, make it easier to manipulate me. But we can use that to help you now."

Krystal shivered. Even while she was here in this quiet and beautiful place, she sensed all those voices, all those thoughts lingering in the back of her mind. They never went away for good. At best she could only just keep them from flooding her entire consciousness. Fox seemed to notice what was going on, and stepped over to hold her close.

"What am I going to do Fox? How can I live like this?" She looked into his eyes.

Fox gave her an encouraging hug. "Look, the fact that you made this and blocked it out means you're already getting better at it. Maybe it's like exercising a muscle. The more you work the impulse to not dwell on all of that, the easier it gets. Believe me, I know." He sighed, looking like a heavy weight had settled onto his shoulders. "Staying in that simulation took a toll on me too, when I started remembering things from past lives. I drove myself crazy, having all those memories I knew I wasn't supposed to have. But eventually I learned to tame it. Control it. Keep myself sane. I can help you. I'll be here every step of the way Krystal."

"But what if you're not around?" She clung to him tightly. "As soon as I stop thinking about you, these voices and faces come rushing right back!"

"We can share dreams now can't we?" He waved at the glade around them. "That gives us all night every night to work through this. We beat her. We beat the Queen. We can beat this too. Together. I'm gonna need your help too."

"Really?" She had no idea with how calm and collected she seemed to be.

"Coming out of that sim, it feels so hard to trust what's in front of my eyes now. And so many things have changed! Corneria's gone, Star Wolf's working for what's left of the Cornerian military, we've spent ten years in those pods. Sometimes, it feels like it's too much for me. But you, along with Falco, Slippy, and Peppy… We're all going to need each other. Help each other pull through this. We're a team right? More than ever, we need to stick together as a team now. I can't do this alone. None of us can."

A team. He was right. They were still a team. She wasn't alone. None of them were. She buried himself into his chest, holding him tight.

Fox returned the embrace. "I didn't come all this way to turn into a gibbering mess at the end. I want to live my life again. The one _and only_ life I ever had. And I want to share the rest of it with you."

"Oh Fox…" They shared a passionate kiss, standing there in the warmth of the sunset.


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!"

Marcus watched with giddy glee as his mother set the large platter upon the picnic table. His cake rested on the platter. A double candle in the shape of the number "two" burned at its center, the little flames the only illumination in the darkness. He couldn't wait to gobble it down but a look from Krystal restrained him.

"Happy birthday dear Marcus! Happy birthday to you!"

As the song ended, Marcus blew out the twin flames.

"Happy birthday, son!" Fox cheered.

Confetti flew through the air, clapping and cheers following Fox's words. The overhanging lights switched back on, illuminating the party in the backyard of the McCloud household. Glowing with pride, Krystal cut into the triple-layered cake and gave the first slice to Marcus. The boy devoured it in seconds, getting chocolate frosting all over his face and hands in the process. A loud round of laughter went round the party guests. Marcus' little pointy ears perked up while he looked at the others, confused by all the jovial celebration. It made him look even more adorable, Krystal laughing herself as she picked up a napkin.

As the other guests crowded the table, Fox hung back and watched the scene. He could hardly believe his son was now two years old; it seemed only yesterday Marcus had been a cheerful, burping and grinning newborn kit. For a moment he saw the hospital again, Krystal exhausted but triumphant on the bed, and himself holding Marcus.

"Hey, kiddo, where'd you go?"

Startled, eyes blinking and ears erect, Fox returned to the present. Wolf waved his hand in front of the vulpine's face. The word 'kiddo' made Fox smile. He was forty years old now and the lupine still called him that. Granted, he still looked pretty young for his age, like how James aged well back in the day.

"You zoned out there." Wolf smiled. "You take your meds?"

"No, just reliving when I first met Marcus." The memory wafted around in his head.

"Ah, yes, children. Little bundles of joy and terror."

As if on cue, five black-and-purple panther cubs appeared, swarming the table and clamoring for cake. With how close the cubs stood together they almost looked like one adorable dark ball of fur with multiple heads and tails. Carlos and Mercedes — the older ones — waited behind with some more patience, while the younger Julia, Diego, and Lucia bounced up and down on their feet next to the table.

"I want cake!"

"Gimme cake! Gimme cake!"

"Me too!"

The little ones eyed the dessert like they were on a hunt and it was the prey they were about to take down. Fox worried they might stick their paws into it and devour it, but a black panthress in a white knee-length dress stepped in front of them.

"Carlos, Diego, Julia, Mercedes, Lucia!" she shouted. "Señora McCloud worked very hard to make this cake for everyone, not just you. Now be patient and let me cut some more pieces."

"Thanks Sofia." Krystal smiled back to the panthress as she kept working on cleaning Marcus.

"No problemo, Krystal." Sofia Caruso returned the grin, stepping over to the cake.

She cut pieces so fast she almost looked like a machine doing it. Fox speculated she had to cook fast to keep all those little mouths fed, hence the knife work. In less than thirty seconds she was already passing pieces to her cubs. But when she was about to give cake to the four-year-old twins Diego and Julia, she discovered she was out of paper plates. Tears began welling in their eyes. Fox sensed loud wailing and crying were imminent.

"I'll get more plates!" Fox raised a hand, catching Sofia's attention. "Just keep them occupied!"

"Gracias, Fox!"

"De nada!" Fox waved, as he ran back to the house.

The single-story dwelling stretched across the width of much of the backyard, constructed of wood, mortar, and natural stones, with a long covered porch extending along the back from end to end. This home looked like it could have been built more than a thousand years ago, back when people on Corneria thought the final frontier was simply exploring and settling the rest of the planet, space travel centuries away from their minds.

The McClouds could have easily gotten a larger house, or even a mansion between Krystal's massive salary and Fox's own. However, they both agreed they didn't want something extravagant. So they'd settled for this rustic design of house, something simple and separated from the great cities.

As Fox stepped onto the porch he sensed someone nearby. Glancing to the right, he noticed a figure hidden in the shadows cast by the roof, far away from the rest of the guests. Leon leaned against the wall and stared at something on his phone. Were it not for the glow of the lizard's phone, he would have been invisible in the dark. His pointed face and slit eyes combined with the underglow creeped Fox out. Sure, the vulpine knew he wasn't a bad guy now, but given the chameleon's past as an assassin and torturer Fox didn't like him lurking around like this.

Nonetheless, Fox opened the back door and stepped inside. The interior matched the exterior, with most of the inner walls also being wooden. He walked into the kitchen, most of the walls and countertops being of stone here. Despite the rustic appearance, the kitchen still had all the modern conveniences any family could ask for, including a new fridge and cooking appliances. He searched through the cabinets, his ears rotated towards the door and listening for the crying to start. He didn't hear it yet, but he knew it was coming.

"Ah! Finally!" he found the right cabinet, crouching to pull out another pack of paper plates.

"Fox, are you alright?" a sweet, feminine voice coursed across the kitchen. "You had your meds?"

The vulpine rose, spotting Rachel standing inside the door, peering in. The ragdoll lynx had a concerned look on her face, whiskers twitching at attention. As the McClouds' live-in nurse it was her responsibility to make sure Fox did not suddenly relapse into the simulated reality. While it had been three years and they were all doing a lot better now, what happened back on the Aparoid homeworld still haunted him from time to time. All of the former prisoners were affected, some worse than others. Sometimes even Krystal would have an episode where she lost control and needed sedation to suppress the Queen's memories. As a result — and by Wolf's recommendation — Rachel was permanently assigned to work with them and help take care of Marcus in Krystal's absence.

The ragdoll was a sweet girl and attentive to their needs, but Fox found himself feeling a little exasperated at how closely she watched him sometimes. "Yeah, I did Rachel." He rolled his eyes. "Two hours ago, like you told me."

"Okay, good!" She smiled. "You better hurry and get those plates out here!" She disappeared through the back door, her long fluffy cat tail disappearing behind her.

Fox rushed around the kitchen's central island, hurrying back into the night air where the rest of the party was. Beyond the perfect carpet of green grass beneath his feet, tall blades of wild grass and scrub brush marked the borders of the lot, swaying in the winds sweeping across the plains lit overhead by the moon and a dazzling array of stars. The occasional tree or house dotted the landscape distantly, but otherwise nothing interrupted his sight for miles and miles.

Fox returned to the party with the plates, handing them off to Sofia. She nodded her thanks, and immediately passed two pieces to Diego and Julia. It wasn't a moment too soon, as they looked like they were about to explode into tears. All was forgotten as soon as the identical twins got their slices though, and they eagerly dug in. Come to think of it, _all_ of Panther's kids looked like one another to him, identical and interchangeable. Being a cat herself, Rachel claimed she could tell them apart but for the life of him Fox could not see what she saw.

"Hey, could I get two pieces?" Wolf stepped over, holding up a finger.

"Two?" Fox chuckled. "Aren't you a little old for all that sugar?"

Wolf's ears turned back in annoyance. He didn't like being reminded of his own age, considering his fiftieth birthday was going to be next year. He hadn't aged as gracefully with all the scars and wounds he'd received during the second Aparoid invasion. Fox could still see some badly healed ones underneath the fur on his face. He took the 'old' comment in stride nonetheless, the frown becoming a toothy grin. They weren't rivals anymore, but they enjoyed poking at each other like this whenever they met.

"One of them's for Leon."

"Ah…" Fox turned to see Leon still hiding out on the end of the porch.

"I must apologize." Wolf rolled his eye at his teammate's behavior. "He only came because he wanted free food. I'll talk to you later Fox." The lupine strolled off with the two pieces of cake in hand.

As Wolf departed Sofia handed Fox his own slice and a fork.

"Gracias!" he said to her, digging into the cake. But then he noticed his son watching him, still seated at the nearby picnic table. Marcus reached out for Fox's plate, giggling happily as his tail wagged behind him.

"Nope." Fox wagged his finger. "You've had enough sugar for one day."

Marcus put on a pouty face, sniffled, and cried. Loud. Fox's ears peeled back in embarrassment, everyone in the backyard turning to look.

"Uh…Krystal?!" He looked around for his wife, head turning each way.

Fortunately for him she came back just in time, sprinting across the backyard with a shiny object in her hands.

"Here Marcus!" She gave him a present wrapped in silver paper. "You can have this one early!"

Marcus' eyes lit up again as he tore into the paper, ripping it off in no time. Opening the box inside, he pulled out a toy Arwing, painted in the colors of the old Star Fox team. They'd become a popular gift ever since he and his friends returned home to Lylat. While Fox appreciated the money from royalties, he felt embarrassed over his old team getting their own merchandise line. Nonetheless, Marcus waved the toy around in the air, laughing and making cute little engine noises as he did so.

"Thanks for the save, Krys." Fox grinned. Funny to think he'd faced the Aparoid Queen and defeated her, but a crying infant scared him.

"No problemo." She smirked, going back to helping Sofia cut more pieces of cake

"Your boy is growing fast," someone said behind Fox.

The vulpine turned to see Panther there, eating his own slice.

"I know," Fox replied, watching Marcus play with the toy Arwing. "Hard to believe it's already been two years."

"You know what your son turning two means, right?" Panther gave a light chuckle, his deep voice giving it a sinister edge.

Fox's ears perked up. "The terrible twos?"

"Ah, so you already know about this?" The cat's thin tail swished behind him in a playful manner.

"When they're one year old they're very cute and you'll love them to death. When they're two though…" Fox put on an evil-looking grin, giving his voice a dramatic edge. "That's when they get _clever_."

"You've done your research. See Carlos over there?" Panther indicated towards the tallest and oldest of his cubs. In contrast to the younger ones who scarfed down the cake like Marcus (much to Sofia's chagrin), Carlos used a fork and took it one bite at a time. "When he was two he really liked my wife's flan. So he watched Sofia when she made it and paid close attention. One day he decided he was going to make it himself. He splattered eggs and milk all over the kitchen floor and the cabinets. Oh, and he left the fridge door open and made a mess trying to get to his ingredients. She had to throw out all the food and it took her hours to clean up."

Fox winced at the thought of Marcus doing something like that, or maybe creating his next artistic masterpiece on the living room wall with his crayons.

"Aww, don't worry so much." Panther laughed and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You've just got to keep a closer eye on Marcus and make sure he's got safe places to explore his creativity. And when he does make messes, you'll have plenty of funny stories to laugh about for years."

Fox stared back as the large cat chuckled. Noticing the silence, Panther stopped laughing, eying the vulpine with confusion.

"Umm…" Fox's ears folded back. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you giving parenting advice sounds really weird."

"Well, I have over a decade of practice now." The large cat grinned, looking out over his brood.

"Only ten years?" Fox smirked, eating his cake as he did so. "I've had more practice."

"What?" Panther cocked his head, looking back to Fox. "But Marcus is your first child, right?"

Fox blinked. Had he said that out loud? His ears rolled backwards as he chewed his lip, trying to think of a way to back out of what he'd said. But he drew a blank, feeling the pressure as Panther stared at him confused. Fortunately for him, another set of footsteps could be heard approaching.

"Hey Fox!" Slippy called out, sliding next to the two of them.

"Slippy, hey!" Fox accepted a handshake from the toad, turning away from Panther.

He hadn't seen the toad in a while. Slippy had joined his father working in the Cornerian military's science division. Beltino Toad needed all the help he could get over there, considering the massive cleanup effort on Corneria and other places in the Lylat System where the Aparoids spread their corruption. Overnight after the war ended, almost their entire R&D went towards finding solutions to that problem. With how hard they worked on it, the toad didn't get away often.

"How are things with your research?" Fox asked.

"Oh, they're going quite well." A slight shade of red appeared on Slippy's green face. "But there's something else I'm more excited about right now."

A purple frog appeared next to him, this one with a more feminine figure. Wearing a blue tank top and khaki shorts, she smiled at Fox and Panther, extending a hand to them. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Mandy, Slippy's fiancé."

With how Slippy said he wanted to date after getting out of the sim, Fox knew how much this meant to him. The green toad looked proud of himself.

"Nice to meet you!" Fox shook her hand.

"Same." Panther also took her hand.

While Mandy had a huge grin (she was a frog after all) Fox sensed an air of uncertainty about her. "Wow…" She looked at all the other partygoers, wringing her hands. "It was incredible meeting Slippy, since he was on your team and all that Fox. But I never thought I'd meet the rest of you. All of you are war heroes, you know, and I'm little old me."

"Hey, don't fret so much." Fox gave her a reassuring smile. "We're no different from you or anyone else."

"Are you sure?" Mandy asked. "Some of you are like superheroes!"

"What do you mean?" Fox tilted his head.

Mandy was about to reply but another voice interrupted. "Ah, I see you've met Mandy."

Fox turned to see Krystal approaching, cleaning frosting off of her hands with a napkin and giving Slippy a happy look.

"You knew about her, Krystal?" Fox asked.

"I did, I wanted it to be a surprise." She finished wiping her hands off and tossed the napkin into a nearby garbage can. "She's one of the scientists I work with, along with Slippy and his dad."

"Yeah, it's how we met." Slippy beamed.

"It's amazing seeing her work!" Mandy gestured towards Krystal. "She tells us how to make something, and it works on the first try! Like when she knew how to make an antidote for the Aparoid mind control virus! We hadn't gotten anywhere on it for weeks!"

 _Ah,_ Fox thought, _now I know what Mandy means by superhero._

Krystal gave a shy smile, ears drooping and tail sweeping between her legs, looking more embarrassed than anything about the praise Mandy heaped on her. However, Fox knew his wife deserved every word of it.

When the Cornerian military got wind of that virus after the final attack on the Aparoid Homeworld, they'd confined everyone who participated to quarantine. They towed defunct cruisers into orbit over Katina, retrofitted them to be living quarters for the infected, and left everyone sitting in them for weeks while the research division worked frantically to find a cure. Without the Queen the virus was harmless, but the military didn't want to take any chances. While Fox couldn't blame them for being cautious, outrage swept Lylat. The heroes who defeated the Aparoids were being treated like prisoners.

That was where Krystal came in.

While still on a quarantine ship, she relayed a formula for the virus' antidote to the military's science division. They were skeptical and didn't want to risk trying it on anybody, so Fox volunteered himself. To everyone's surprise, the synthesized antidote worked flawlessly, Fox coming back as clean within minutes once it was administered to him. The knowledge and memories the Queen left in Krystal's head gave her the know-how to make it. While it was a terrible burden carrying that in her mind, she'd found a way to use it to help Lylat.

Once everyone was cured and the quarantine lifted, Krystal joined the science division alongside Slippy, working with Beltino as well. She quickly rose to the position of a head researcher and scientist. 'Researcher' was something of a misnomer though, considering Krystal didn't have to research anything to develop most of the things she'd created. She must have indeed seemed like some kind of genius or superhero to the scientists who worked with her.

Also, Fox noted with some amusement she spent more time with the Toads than Fox himself, because of her important work.

"The cleanup on Corneria is going faster than anyone could have ever anticipated!" Mandy gushed. "We thought it was going to take decades to get rid of all the Aparoid corruption. Now the planet could be habitable again in just several years!"

Mandy talked on and on about it, gesticulating with her arms with how excited she was. Fox chuckled. It was too bad the Queen was dead, since he would have loved to see the look on her face upon hearing news like this. So much for not living to see Lylat restored.

"…and it's all thanks to Krystal!" Mandy's words brought Fox back to the current conversation. "She knows the exact chemical compositions of all types of Aparoid substances, and the right chemicals to dissolve them away without harming the environment!"

"Mandy, it's okay." Krystal put a hand on one of Mandy's arms, pushing it down. While she'd put on a smile, Fox sensed Krystal was only doing it for the sake of politeness. "You don't have to brag about me."

"Okay, but…" Mandy sighed. "It's all so incredible what you do. I'm still amazed at all the things you're coming up with. Like those new warp engines and charts of unknown systems and—"

"Mandy, really, you can stop," Slippy intervened this time.

Krystal gave the toad a small, almost imperceptible nod of thanks. While she'd made so many amazing scientific achievements in the past couple years, people praising her also reminded her of where the knowledge came from and all the other things she had to carry in her head. It was because of this — and because it led to abrupt breakdowns at the worst of times — Krystal didn't like to talk about her job outside of working hours. Mandy didn't understand that yet, being new to their circle of friends and family.

Nonetheless, the purple frog's smile faded away, her large eyelids enhancing the sad look on her face. As an awkward silence settled over the group, Fox decided to turn the conversation in another direction.

"What ya'll are doing sure sounds a lot more exciting than what I do these days." He grinned at Kyrstal, Slippy, and Mandy. "I'm just a part-time trainer at the new flight academy they've built here on Katina. Kind of a far cry from Star Fox, huh?"

"Yeah, but your class always fills fast, doesn't it?"

Another new voice entered the conversation, Peppy walking over to join the group. He was giving Marcus a piggyback ride, the little kit laughing as he held on with one hand and waved the toy Arwing around with the other. The old hare looked younger compared to three years ago. The peace following the end of the war, plus Corneria's rehab program, had done wonders for all of them.

"Everyone wants to learn from the hero of Lylat." Peppy beamed.

"It wasn't only me who saved the day, you know."Fox rolled his eyes.

"I know, but not many of us can say we've come back from the dead and finally defeated the Aparoid Queen, right? Here, he wants to see you." He turned around.

Fox discarded his plate in the trash, picking Marcus off of the hare's back. The boy's eyes lit up as he came face to face with his father holding him. "Thanks, granddad," Fox said to Peppy.

Peppy liked being called that. Given his age and everything he'd been through on the Aparoid homeworld, he'd decided to retire and live with the McClouds. He made for a wonderful grandparent, and Marcus loved having him around. Together with Rachel they made sure the McClouds had a semblance of a normal life, as much as was possible.

Meanwhile Marcus kept waving the Arwing around, Fox having to lean back and dodge whenever the kit brought the toy too close to his face. He caught the boy's arm. "Hey, careful, you'll poke someone's eye out with that thing." But when he took away the ship, tears formed in the boy's eyes, his cries feeling like miniaturized sonic blasts this close. Fox winced at the noise. "Okay, fine, but be more careful." He handed the ship back, Marcus resuming his happy little laugh.

"You're becoming more like your father!"

That wasn't Peppy. Sounded more like someone doing a Peppy impression. A really bad one. Fox turned to see Falco standing there, feathery hands shoved into the pockets of a silver jacket and grinning like an idiot. A round of laughter went around the group, especially from Peppy himself.

"Oh, that was awful!" Katt stepped beside the bird, smacking him in the chest. "You need to go back to acting school!"

Falco…

While the bird was back to being his usual cocky, arrogant, and snarky self now, he'd been the one who had the hardest time adjusting after coming back to reality. Him attacking Fox on the hospital ship was only the beginning. For months afterwards he'd been convinced the Anglar Simulation was the real deal, and the reality they were in now was an elaborate hoax. Rather ironic. Fox couldn't get a word in whenever he tried talking to Falco during their group therapy sessions. The bird would keep screaming about how Fox murdered them all, and he swore he was going to return the favor one day. Eventually the psychologists decided Falco needed to have his own solo sessions, but they still weren't making any progress with him.

Hard to believe they'd been through all of that with what Falco was like now.

"Never give up! Trust your instincts!" Falco mimed Peppy again, sounding ridiculous as he attempted the country accent. Chuckles and laughs roared with every new imitation. "You're becoming a better pilot! Try a somersault! Do a barr— "

_SLAP._

"Ow!" Falco staggered backwards a good five feet before he recovered, clutching at his beak. Fox could see a red outline of a handprint there. "What the hell, Katt?"

"Be thankful I kept my claws sheathed." Katt cast a death glare at Falco, crossing her arms.

Everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Jeez, you people have no sense of humor!" Falco kept rubbing at his jaw, still wincing from the hit.

Fox smirked at Katt's actions. While the couple argued and bickered from time to time, they'd be laughing and joking again before the party was over.

Both of them had become inseparable ever since Katt helped Falco recover from his PTSD. She'd heard about what happened to Falco, and demanded to see him. This turned out to be the best thing the doctors could have possibly done. During their first session together, something triggered in Falco's mind once he saw Katt with _pink_ fur, considering the Katt in the sim had brown fur instead. Seeing her awoke all the long lost memories he had for his real life. From that point forward, they made amazing progress over the next few days, to the point where he was considered sane and fit to return to regular society inside of two weeks. Soon after he quickly apologized to Fox for the things he'd said in the earlier sessions.

"Anyway Fox," Falco smiled, extending a feathered hand. "Congratulations on your son's birthday. Jokes aside, I really do hope he grows up to be like you."

Fox couldn't help but feel a little pride, accepting the handshake. "Gosh, thanks Falco!" The bird rarely gave high praise to anybody, so if he made a positive remark he truly meant it.

"It's here!" Leon's shrill voice could be heard calling out from the house. "It finally made it here!"

Over the grass, the lizard pushed an overly large box in rainbow-colored wrapping paper with a large bow on top. Considering this was _Leon_ with a very large present, what was inside it? While Fox got along well with Wolf and Panther after returning home to Lylat, the chameleon was still something of an unknown. In fact, this was one of the few times he'd shown up for a social gathering.

"Let me help you with that!"

Falco ran over and helped Leon push the box over towards Marcus. Funny to think those two used to be rivals back in the old days. At last, they got the present over to the little kit.

"I must apologize for missing most of the party, Fox." Leon took a moment to catch his breath. "I was busy checking when my gift would get delivered here. I was afraid it wasn't going to make it."

Fox's eyes widened. That's what he was doing on the phone? Fox never expected something like that, and he felt ashamed for thinking Leon was just avoiding the party. Still though, what was inside the box?

Marcus giggled, waddling over to the present and ripping the paper apart. He laughed as it all fell to the grass. A brown cardboard box was revealed underneath the decorative paper. Leon took out a pocket knife and cut it open, packing peanuts spilling out onto the grass. As Leon reached into the box and pulled the item out of the peanuts, an astonished gasp went around the guests.

Before them sat another toy Arwing, except this one was large enough for Marcus to ride in it, complete with a seat and working controls. It even hovered off the ground a few inches as Leon brushed away the peanuts.

"Wow…" Fox's eyes widened at the sight.

"Put him in!" Leon smiled.

Fox seated the kit in front of the controls. Marcus pushed the buttons all over the cockpit, the 'laser cannons' on the sides lighting up and making 'pew pew' noises as he did so. Then he pushed the flight stick, the Arwing gliding across the ground. Marcus bumped into the picnic table. It was only at about one mile per hour though, so he harmlessly bounced off. He burbled and laughed, waving his hands around.

"Papá!" Everyone turned around to see Diego cry out, the little panther cub pointing at Marcus flying the giant toy. "I want one! Like your Wolfen!"

"Me too! Me too!" his twin Julia piped up, jumping in place.

Panther grimaced, his tail thrashing behind him in annoyance. He looked over to his teammate Leon. "Oh bueno Leon, now I'm gonna have to buy _two_ of those things because of you."

The other guests laughed at the cat's new predicament, Sofia smiling as she put a hand over her husband's shoulder.

"Maybe that could be our gift when it's time for their birthday." Fox grinned.

"Oh, would you Fox?" Panther clasped his hands in thanks. "That would be most appreciated!"

Meanwhile Marcus guided the toy Arwing around the yard, seeming to learn to pilot it at a quick pace. With surprising control, the kit guided it between the folding tables with care, not bumping into anything.

"You're becoming a better pilot!" Falco quoted Peppy once more.

A collective groan went around the yard, followed by more laughter.

Leon stepped next to Fox, smirking. "Hmm… He seems to like it quite well."

"Yes he does." Fox beamed. "Thanks for bringing that, Leon."

"It's no problem Fox. I wanted to give Marcus something special to make up for all the times I didn't visit with Wolf and Panther. You think he really will end up like you though?"

"I don't know." Fox grinned at the thought. "Guess we'll have to wait and see."

Hours later, after the guests had departed, Fox remained outside, cleaning away the decorations, trash, and folding tables. Peppy helped him while Rachel attended Krystal in getting Marcus back inside. Fox looked up at the sky, admiring the dizzying carpet of stars over his head. Far away from the lights of any city, he could see every single star in exquisite detail. This place was exactly the way Fox wanted it. Open, wide, and spacious. After spending years inside a pressurized container with his mind dancing inside an artificial reality he wanted nothing more than to be free. Krystal shared the same view, the locale evoking memories of her old home on Cerinia.

"Fox?" Peppy's voice interrupted him. "You need help carrying that table?"

He'd zoned out again, feeling embarrassed as he looked over at Peppy. Fox smiled. "Nah, I got it."

Fox flipped the folding table over, collapsing the legs and picking it up in his arms. He walked back towards the house, the breeze pleasant and relaxing on his large ears.

The cheerfulness of the party was now replaced with a contentedness he had not felt in a long time. This was what life was supposed to be like — family and friends united to celebrate a child's birthday, and the peaceful aftermath. Not like the celebration after a battle or even the victory parades when the survivors had been cured and were free to come home. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life this way.

~X~

_The next day…_

A little before noon, the McClouds found themselves sitting in Marcus' sandbox in the backyard, the sun bearing down on them overhead. Marcus was doing his best to make a sand castle. At the moment it looked more like a sand mound with holes poked in it for windows though, although Fox loved watching him play all the same. He was getting better at making sand creations all the time.

"Déjà vu…" Fox mumbled.

"What?" Krystal looked at him.

Fox met Krystal's eyes. He smiled, feeling embarrassed. "The simulation."

Krystal frowned. That word had become the s-word around the house, even more so than 'shit'. Now that they'd been out for a couple years and mostly recovered from the experience, they only wanted to move on with their lives and focus on raising Marcus.

"Sorry." Fox smirked, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I've been here before, with you and Marcus. Gosh, I lost count while I was in there. Had to be at least forty or fifty times."

"Really?" Krystal's eyes widened. "That much?"

Fox nodded. "Fifty times out of ten thousand four hundred and sixty two isn't a whole lot, but every time Marcus showed up I loved seeing him again." The vulpine got a faraway look in his eyes, looking out over the plains again, a childish grin forming. "Well, some of those times he was Marcia instead of Marcus, if you get what I mean."

Krystal smirked, encouraging him to continue.

"I got to see Marcus grow up so many times, and live so many different lives when he grew up." He cast a playful glance towards his wife. "Want me to tell you about them?"

Krystal blinked, whiskers perking up in interest. Even to Fox himself it sounded strange to think he'd already seen his son grow to adulthood multiple times. His wife looked down at the little kit next to them. Marcus was filling a plastic bucket shaped like a castle tower with sand and a little water, the next addition to his creation.

"No, I'd like it to be a surprise," Krystal said, leaning over and helping Marcus turn the filled bucket over to make the tower. "I feel like it'd take away a lot of the fun if I knew how it's all going to go."

"Okay, fair enough."

Marcus turned towards his father, a smile perking up as his cute little blue tail wagged, eyes flickering many colors as the sun reflected off of them. The young kit reached out for Fox's hand.

"Here, he wants you," Krystal said, picking up Marcus and setting him closer to his father. Fox looked down at his son again, pondering the multiple outcomes he'd seen for Marcus' life in the sim.

In the most common scenario Marcus went to the flight academy per family tradition and recreated Star Fox. Not surprising. The other timelines were interesting as well. In one of them, Marcus became a lawyer, using his mother's inherited psychic abilities to divine the truth in the courtroom. In another, he became a politician. With his empathic abilities, he could sense the needs of his constituents and use the information to make Lylat a better place. Then in another he even wrote a best-seller trilogy of his family's exploits, becoming rich and famous in the process.

Some of them weren't so happy though. One time Marcus worked a lot of dead end jobs like fast food worker and school janitor, and lived an unremarkable existence. There was also a timeline where he'd gotten addicted to Sparkle, a dangerous addictive drug common before the Aparoid invasion, and ended up overdosing and dying at the young age of twenty five. And in one especially painful one Marcus' Arwing had been shot to pieces in a pitched alien war, and Fox could not save him.

Something skittered along Fox's leg. Looking down, he spotted a large roach, looking up at him.

Cursing, Fox brushed it off of his leg, then stood and stomped on it. Green goo coated his boot as he ground it into the sand.

"Fox, what are you doing?" Krystal asked. "It's in the sandbox!"

"Sorry, too many roaches out this time of year." Fox kept stomping away.

"Well, please kick it somewhere else next time."

Abashed, Fox retrieved a small shovel, scooped the bug up with some sand, and deposited the mess some distance away.

"Damn roaches…" He grumbled, sitting down with his family again.

Krystal looked at him with concern. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, yes…" He narrowed his eyes.

"Would you like me to—?"

"No, let Rachel be." He held up a hand to silence her. "It's the weekend. I can go one day without her."

Fox glanced down at his son once more. Would the real Marcus' future be one of the futures he'd seen, or something different? He had no clue, or how much he should trust what the sim revealed.

"We've got to raise him right this time."

"Hmm?"

"This time it's for real, Krystal. No more do-overs." Fox smiled at his wife. "But it's okay. I've gotten a lot of practice in the sim. I'm ready for the real thing."

Krystal smiled back. "So am I Fox."

It almost made the time spent in there worth it. Almost. In a way, the Queen had given him a gift without ever realizing it. In her attempt to figure out how he ticked she had missed one obvious thing: he could never truly be broken. No one could, for as long as they had something to hold onto. In Fox's case, it was the knowledge that life itself was the most precious of all gifts in this mortal world. Now life had new meaning: his son.

So, yes, he decided, good can come from evil. One had to know where to look for it, even if it took a decade or hundreds of thousand years, both literally so for him.

"So, Krystal, what did you learn in there?"

She looked surprised at his question. "What do you mean?"

"I… don't rightly know. I feel like in spite of all the Queen did… there was something I learned: I only have one life to live. I broke free of her once I realized it. What about you?"

She was silent, helping Marcus smooth out some sand for another tower, who was unaware of the weighty conversation going above his head. Fox turned to helping and for a few long moments all was quiet, just a family enjoying their time.

Finally, Krystal answered, "I suppose I learned the same. You taught it to me when you kept… resetting it. Nothing felt right after that one time. Everything… everything just clicked."

"I know," he whispered.

That was all that needed to be said.

Eventually Fox stirred from where he was packing more sand into a bucket — the castle had grown to impressive size and elaboration (he remembered a sim-future where Marcus became an architect) — and looked toward the sun. High in the sky, it began drifting down toward the horizon.

"It's time to go in. It's almost lunchtime," he said half-aloud. Krystal nodded and picked up Marcus, who whined about leaving his sand box behind.

"We've got to go eat, now, Marcus," she cooed. "We'll be back outside soon."

"Lwaunch?"

"Yes, lunch."

The kit laughed and stopped his complaints. Krystal hoisted him higher in her arms into a more comfortable position and walked toward the house. Fox stayed behind, cleaning up for when they returned. No doubt Rachel was already making something while Peppy yelled at the TV. There was an interplanetary championship being hosted, and Peppy's favorite team had made it to the big leagues.

Fox didn't care much for sports unless they were cars, for some bizarre reason. After spending so much of his life flying he was shocked at his interest in terrestrial vehicles. Perhaps it was something from childhood, perhaps not. Perhaps he wanted a break from his past.

Either way, it made for colorful evenings after Marcus had gone to bed. While Krystal and Rachel chatted in the next room, he and Peppy cheered on their favorite sports team or racer. It helped them bond more closely than ever.

"Fox, you coming?"

He looked, smiling. "Yeah, I'll be there!"

He put away the buckets and shovels on the wooden sides and stepped carefully over Marcus' creation, hurrying after his wife and son.

_Life is good, and I wouldn't trade this for anything in the universe._

Behind him, in the little sandy pile near the box, the roach's leg protruded slightly out. It twitched, only for a moment, and was still forevermore.

**THE END**


End file.
